


Stick It

by gladiatorgrl2703



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Angst, Gymnastics, Less violence than usual, M/M, Neil was with the Foxes first, Stick It AU, VGA meets Wymack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-08-05 01:52:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 24,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16358390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gladiatorgrl2703/pseuds/gladiatorgrl2703
Summary: This isn't the first time Andrew Minyard made out with law enforcement. And it wouldn't be the first time he flirted with juvie. But before he can be carted off one more time, someone steps into interfere and Andrew is sent instead to the last place on earth he would want to go: Wymack's Gymnastics Academy. Andrew left the world of competitive gymnastics years ago, walking out on World Championships and the sport forever. But now, with Kevin Day dangling new promises in his face, and the newest recruit for the Foxes catching his eye, Andrew needs to reevaluate what it means to floor it and what it looks like to stick around.---"You don't have to be so nasty, Riko," Neil said, cutting Riko off.Riko turned to Neil, eyes flicking to Kathy for a moment. "Believe me, it is not my intention to say anything except the truth. Besides..." He turned back to the camera, trademark smirk on his face. "They don't call it gym-nice-stics."A week later, every Raven fan in the stadium had the quote printed on t-shirts.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally supposed to be a Big Bang, but unfortunately it never made it through. The story hasn't left my mind though and I am very excited to share it with you all. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it.

Every day, Andrew Minyard broke the laws of gravity. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that sometimes other laws got broken in the process.

He had never before made a positive impression on the judges that presided over his cases. And he wasn't sure why Nicky kept getting his hopes up each time. If they went easy on him, then he wouldn’t be in a position to get what he wanted.

As Andrew sat in front of the gallery, just few feet separating him and the judge at the bench, he let his mind wander of the various possibilities this next sentence could bring with it.

“Additionally,” the woman read as she continued down the long list of property damages that had resulted from Andrew flying through the window of a house on his BMX bike. “There’s been another option laid out for you. Someone had agreed to subsidize the cost of damages in exchange for your participation in a program called WGA. Given this change, which would you prefer Mr. Minyard: The state juvenile detention center or WGA?”

Behind him, Nicky was about ready to implode. “Wymack’s?”

“State juvenile detention center,” Andrew answered without missing a beat.

“Perfect. We’ll send you off to WGA then. Save the state some money and keep you out of places you don’t belong.”

The gavel came down with a resounding crash and Nicky didn’t even wait until he was through the partition to start his line of questioning.

“Back to gymnastics?” His voice was too hopeful. “I thought you said you’d never-”

“Not now, Nicky.”

As they went through the doors, Aaron’s head snapped up from the bench across the hallway where he had been waiting for his twin.

Andrew didn’t bother to look at him. The deal for him to go to Wymack’s Gymnastic Academy hadn’t come from an anonymous good Samaritan. The coach had to be either in the courthouse or near it, along with his most recent acquisition.

Andrew knew Kevin Day’s impatience was as notorious as it was annoying, so it was no surprise when he came in from the opposite end of the hallway. He was wearing a ridiculously well-tailored suit.

Kevin walked ahead of them, not bothering to greet anyone, stopping only to open a door and step inside.  
Nicky was giddy, nervous and a bit on edge. In all likelihood, he was worried what Andrew would do or say to Kevin Day behind closed doors. He managed to somehow keep his mouth shut until they were seated.

A middle-aged man was already sitting in one of the chairs at the wide chestnut table that filled the room. He sat facing the door, so when Kevin came in, he picked his head up from whatever he was looking at in his file and flipped the folder closed.

“Andrew Minyard.”

Andrew laughed, giving a little shake of his head. “David V. Wymack, coach of the elusive Foxes down at the Wymack Gymnastics Academy.”

He plopped himself into the seat directly across from Wymack, in the center of the side of the table facing away from the door. Nicky and Aaron took their place on either side of him just as Kevin sat to Wymack’s right.

“Can’t say I’m surprised to see Kevin here.” Andrew leaned forward in his chair. “Are you my anonymous donor? Here to save me from big bad juvie?”

“The fact that you can even joke about it makes me sick,” Kevin said.

“Makes you sick? Imagine my feelings to find out I am being asked to be your teammate again.” He leaned back in his chair and smiled with all of his teeth. “I don’t like being cornered. I thought I made that clear to you before.”

“And I don't like watching wasted talent.”

Andrew’s scoff filled the dense air in the room.

“Your mistake is thinking I care.”

“No. My mistake was not trying harder the first time.”

At this, Aaron looked up. Andrew saw it in his peripheral. It was apparent what Kevin was referring to. Before, when Andrew had been competing under the tutelage of his reunited Uncle’s gym, the first time he had qualified for Nationals, Kevin had tried and failed to convince Andrew to go to the Ravens. He’d been in juvie during the conversation, and Kevin had made his first move in bulldozing into his life. He’d refused, writing Kevin off. The encounter made Kevin extraordinarily uncomfortable and distant when a year later they sat on the same team for World Championships.

“Hanging out with your newest recruit must have dulled your intellect. First, you recruit a pathological liar, and now you're chasing the same person that’s turned you down three times.”

“Neil Josten has nothing to do with my decision to recruit you.”

“There’s nothing you could say that would convince me. Then or now. It seems like we are done here, so I think I’ll just go. No need to worry about me joining WGA.” Andrew stood, even as Nicky and Aaron stayed seated and staring up at him. He turned toward the door.

“You’re worth it.”

Kevin didn’t wait for Andrew to respond. All the room in the air was sucked out with those three words. Andrew went rigid, hand frozen on the doorknob.

“You’re one of the greatest natural talents this sport has ever seen. So much potential I can taste it, but you’d rather sit in a cell than try. Watching you sit here like you don’t care about your talent is worse than watching you walk out of Worlds. It’s a fucking shame and an abomination.”

Andrew turned slowly, his face stuck in stony indifference.

“We’re done here,” Andrew said, directed pointedly at Aaron and Nicky.

“Tell him,” Kevin said, turning his attention on Aaron.

Aaron remained in his chair but shrugged lazily.

“What would be the point?”

Kevin clicked his tongue, as pissed with Aaron cynicism as Andrew’s apathy.

“That’s enough, Day,” Wymack said as he stood up from his chair, sliding a folder across the length of the table. It stopped in front of Nicky. “It’s not just Andrew we are interested in. There are spots on the team for all three of you. And despite Kevin’s suggestion of the circumstances under which we want you, I’m the coach here. The truth is Andrew can take this, or he can piss off the judge, which does no favors for his previous sentences.”

Nicky and Aaron didn’t bother speaking. Aaron was already done with the conversation, and Nicky knew the price of betraying Andrew before he’d made his final say.

“You’d put the rest of your team in jeopardy.” Andrew didn’t even try to hide the amusement from his voice. Wymack’s gym was notorious for the types of people he recruited. People, as far as the public was concerned, that were exactly like Andrew. “Maybe it is all a marketing scheme?”

“Everyone else may care about what you did at World’s, but my team started paying attention to you when you spit on the Ravens. They know your reputation, and they voted unanimously to have you on the lineup.”

“What a sweet sentiment, coach David Wymack. Write that up on a greeting card and use the money to fund yourself a new athlete. One who cares about the sport, perhaps?”

“That would be boring.”

Andrew’s smile widened. “Appealing to my limited attention span, aren’t you? I have to admit, that’s a good strategy.”

He was silent a moment, testing to see if Wymack’s impatience would have him continue the negotiation. Wymack seemed content to wait Andrew out.

“You’ll need to offer me something pretty enticing to make it worth my while.”

“A gym to back you to an Olympic qualifier and World championship, plus a full scholarship to any college gymnastics program isn’t enough?”

“Things I could give a fuck less about,” Andrew said without hesitation.

“What is it then, that you want?”

Andrew took a pill bottle out of his pocket and set it on the table. Kevin’s eyes narrowed, and Andrew could already tell he was going to make it happen for Andrew.

“I can’t take you off of those,” Wymack said.

“No,” Andrew agreed. “But are you willing to let me off for meets?”

Kevin opened his mouth, prepared to say yes from what Andrew could tell, but Wymack didn’t give him the opportunity to speak.

“Are you going to set the vaults on fire and slit the throats of my Foxes if you’re sober?”

“Maybe,” Nicky muttered under his breath.

“I won’t be sober. Find the man that made these pills and give him the Olympic gold. I can’t stay off of them long enough for sobriety. Tried six times just to see if I could. No use, and no fun at all.”

“Why would we sign you if you’re just going to tank every meet? Everything I’ve read about the drugs should make you a better performer.”

“Should is the operative word in that sentence. You’re forgetting that I don’t care about gymnastics and I don’t care about getting back on the competition floor. When I come down the only thing I feel is me, and I’ll do what comes naturally.”

“Which is?”

Andrew smiled wide. “Take down anyone who thinks they can beat me.”

Kevin tried his best not to fidget, lasting only a few seconds before he could speak.

“Done,” he said.

Andrew didn’t even bother to look at him, content on waiting out coach Wymack, who for a long while said nothing before letting out a rough sigh.

“Two conditions: you don’t get caught, and you place. Soon as you can’t perform, then you’re off rotation.”

“How demanding,” Andrew sighed.

“That’s interesting, coming from you,” Wymack countered. He looked around the room once more, stopping to grab the eyes of each of the men staring back at him. “So, what’ll it be?”

“Done,” he decided, already bored of their little interrogation. He saw Aaron stiffen as the word left his mouth, and it took every tension in his brother's body not to snap his neck in Andrew’s direction.

Andrew chose to ignore the fact that Nicky looked excited.

They walked out of the room together, Nicky and Wymack speaking about details in voices that were easy to tune out. Kevin had to make an effort to move his legs slow enough to keep pace with Andrew, but he managed just fine, posing question after unanswered question Andrew’s way, totally obvious to Andrew’s lack on compliance.

Aaron was wordless.

“I’m assuming you don’t need to drive back with us?” Wymack asked as they exited out of the parking lot.

“We drove,” Nicky explained.

Andrew continued walking toward the car until they were all suddenly stopped in front of his gleaming sports car. He slid into the driver’s seat impatiently, turning the ignition and blasting the radio to drown out the sound of Kevin’s voice as he gave instructions on their next steps. Aaron got into the backseat without listening to any of it.

“It’s about a three-hour drive from here.” Kevin looked out at the parking lot. “You can drive out now or wait for the morning. Either way, we’ll be expecting you first thing tomorrow. Practice starts at six am.”

Neither Kevin nor Wymack tried to continue the niceties beyond that, pausing only to speak very briefly with Nicky before heading off towards their own car.

All Nicky had wanted to do following his conversation with Wymack was to talk about it. He tried only one time when they got home to gauge where Andrew was at with the decision, still apparently unconvinced by half scribbled signatures and empty threats. Andrew locked himself in his room for the rest of the evening.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I cannot believe the reaction to this fic already!!! So great to see :) I couldn't resist posting another chapter, even if it is just a small one! Hope you enjoy.

Kevin let out a hollow sigh as he pulled the car door shut. Neil was already in the passenger's seat—he’d spent the time Kevin was in the courthouse holding a lit cigarette out the window of Wymack’s truck, fumbling with the radio stations until constant static pumped through the speakers. Neil knew what the sigh meant. He watched Kevin through the side mirror as Wymack buckled his seat belt. He grumbled to Kevin and Neil to do the same. 

Kevin hastily took the aux cord from the back seat as Wymack started the engine, pressing sharply on his phone until the sounds of a violin and accompanying piano resonated through the speakers. He gripped his phone, holding tight to the plastic of the case until his knuckles turned white and his eyes slid closed. 

“Lose the cigarette,” Wymack chastised before he took the car out of park. 

“He signed, I’m guessing,” Neil said in French as he tipped the end of his cigarette off his finger and onto the concrete.

“He signed,” Kevin confirmed.

“I’m surprised,” Neil admitted. “Doesn’t seem like Minyard had any interest or reason for returning to the sport.”

“He brought you up, actually,” Kevin said the words as smoothly as Wymack pulled out of the parking spot. “Said I’m nuts for having a pathological liar on my team.”

“We’ve never met,” Neil said dismissively.

“And yet, he can tell.”

Neil turned in his seat to face Kevin head on. His movements had little effect on Kevin, who continued keeping an assessing gaze on the road.

“Andrew is going to be a problem.”

“So you’ve told me countless times,” Kevin said. “His problematic nature is nothing compared to the complacency the Foxes have embedded in them. It will do them some good to be shaken up by new members.”

“Shaken up or murdered?” Neil hedged.

“Nathaniel,” Kevin started. Neil stopped him promptly, cutting in sharply, so Kevin barely got half of the name out.

“Don’t call me that.”

Kevin bit the underside of his lip. He looked marginally guilty but didn’t apologize. It wouldn’t be worth it anyway. That was something they both knew and understood.

“I think Andrew will be good for the team. And he deserves someone to push him into being the best.”

“So you keep saying,” Neil said as he turned away to look out the window.

“The Foxes will be a World Championship team this year,” Kevin said.

“You keep saying that, too.”

“They have to be. There’s too much raw talent. They just need to be inspired.”

“Enlisting me and Minyard will definitely inspire them,” Neil said sarcastically.

Kevin didn’t even try to defend himself. They spent the rest of the drive in silence.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we have Kevin's perspective.

Sleep was not a thing that came easily to Kevin Day. Neither adjusting to a 24-hour schedule nor recovering from years of Riko helped much with falling and staying asleep. When he was younger, there was comfort in the hope that after leaving the Nest he would be granted the right to freedom that seemed to come so easily to everyone else. It took less than a week outside of the Nest for him to realize he’d never get such a luxury. 

The best he could do was trick himself into sleeping and hoping it lasted long enough, so he woke up with some semblance of rest. 

That night, following the meeting with Andrew, Kevin didn’t even bother trying to fall asleep. 

It had been too long since he’d waited in anticipation for something exciting. The last time he felt like this was the night before Worlds, three years ago. He tried not to dwell on the fact that that also had something to do with Andrew Minyard. 

He didn’t want to resort to alcohol—not when something he’d waited for years was finally happening. 

The last time he’d attempted to convince Andrew to join his team, Andrew had threatened to end his career out of sheer spite. The glass of the juvie visiting room had stood between them. At the time, he hadn’t realized that his obsession had extended beyond anything other than the sheer talent Andrew had. 

It took a year and a half, and Andrew’s 15.6 vault score for Kevin to recognize that the feeling deep in his stomach when he watched Andrew train were the pin-pricks of obsession. His mind hadn’t allowed him to forget it since then. 

Kevin bounced out of bed where he had been failing to concentrate on footage from the Rio Olympics, looking a little desperately for his left sneaker as his mind flicked through images of past memories. He couldn't do this to himself, think about Andrew like he had when he was 16 and desperate, let his mind wander in his thoughts of what Andrew could do when he set his mind to something. He needed a distraction. 

Now, Kevin Day was nothing if not disciplined. He allowed himself isolated moments of thinking about Andrew in-between the exercises of his circuit training. He kept his mind focused as he ran down to the gym, and as he worked on the horizontal bar. Following his dismount, he granted himself forty-five seconds to let his mind wander before bringing it back fiercely. 

Like all things that concerned Andrew, his talent and his skill and his attractiveness, what happened as a result of Kevin’s efforts was wholly and entirely dependent on what Andrew wanted. 

He wouldn’t be stupid. He wouldn’t get his hopes up. He would be disciplined and clear and isolate all of his thoughts concerning Andrew into his goal—getting Andrew to unlock that bit of talent he always kept tucked away: Getting Andrew to be the best in the game. 

He tucked this goal carefully in the folds of his mind, right next to the promise he had made Neil. It wasn’t a habit he was used to, pushing other people to reach the heights of what they deserved, but he was beginning to consider he might actually like it. 

His thoughts took a turn towards Neil, towards the secrets and lies wrapped in the packaging of dyed hair and brown contacts. He’d called Neil Nathaniel in the car, and it hadn’t been the first time. It was a terrible habit, but one he couldn’t quite seem to fall out of. He wished he could go back to not knowing, to seeing Neil as someone with endless potential. But he’d made a pact that he would qualify him for Nationals, and he intended to keep it. 

He kept these two boys—cautious and wild and dangerous—next to each other in his mind as he considered ways to help them around themselves. Neil had offered little resistance in the form of his training but had too many barriers set all around him from his past to build anything substantial to stand on. Andrew, defiant to a fault, was the opposites far as gymnastics was concerned. Nothing clearly definable standing in his way besides his own psyche, without a will or drive in the world. 

Kevin drifted to sleep wondering what, exactly, he was getting himself into.


	4. Chapter 4

“Only two hours late,” Nicky said, flashing a smile as he pulled into the parking lot. 

Andrew and Aaron said nothing in response, staring up at the orange and white monstrosity of a building that Wymack called his gymnastics academy. 

“Any particular game plan?” Nicky asked as he turned the ignition off. 

“Train alone and stick to ourselves,” Aaron said flatly as he exited the car. 

“Why am I even surprised?” Nicky asked. He turned around to examine Andrew in the backseat. “What about you? Going to wait at least a minute before pulling a knife on someone?” 

“That depends entirely on them,” Andrew said with a slow smile. 

Nicky pushed his sunglasses back onto his face with his index finger. “So I’ll be the charming one, as usual.” 

“Be whatever the fuck you want Nicky,” Aaron said through the open window. “Just leave me out of it.” 

Nicky sighed dramatically. “It’s so taxing being the approachable, gay one. But alas,” he exclaimed as he opened the car door and stepped out. “I do what I must to serve the people.” 

“Serve yourself, you mean,” Aaron corrected as he grabbed his bag from the trunk.   
Andrew stayed where he was in the back of the car, ignoring to the best of his ability the muffled sound of the boys talking. 

Nicky tapped on the glass and held up Andrew’s duffel in question. 

Andrew moved slowly as he exited the car, slamming the car door as he took the bag from Nicky’s hands without a word. He took measured steps towards the doors of the gym and followed after Aaron as Nicky pulled them open. 

It looked like they walked inside a creamsicle pop. The floors of the gym were all fashioned with pristine carpeting in the brightest possible shade of orange. Everything was blinding white with orange trim, fashioned with paw prints and deep capital lettering of FOXES and VGA on every surface—from the floor to the wall, to the trampolines. 

“Christ,” Nicky breathed. “I was going to take my sunglasses off, but it seems like they are better suited for this place than outside.” 

For a moment they stood there, and no one really realized they’d entered. Andrew used this to his advantage, making quick calculations on what he could. 

The Foxes weren’t as terrible as their reputation would have most people believe, but their inability to exist in the same space with one another ruined any and all chance for any of them to make the national team. This was apparent in less than three minutes. 

The girls were talented but unfocused. Dan spent more time putting out fires around the gym than training her release moves on the uneven bars. Allison was fierce, and strong, but suffered from chasing perfect execution. Partnered with her inability to control her landings on her skills, and given that her specialty was the beam, she was continually pursuing something unattainable. 

Renee was interesting and different from the other two. Well-controlled, but safer than she needed to be. Too safe. She could qualify for almost any event and was a great all-around gymnast. She wouldn’t throw her hardest tricks even in practice. If Andrew didn’t already know her from nationals, where they had started a not so regulated bout of sparring matches, she would have been on his radar.

Moving to survey the men’s team did little to impress Andrew. Even including the skills he brought to the team, and with Aaron and Nicky, the men’s team was too unbalanced to function. 

Seth was a mess no matter what he was training, struggling for control of tricks that were too difficult for him to be throwing and battling his own stubbornness for trying anything else. Dan yelled between him and Matt and Allison the most, who seemed to be at the center of all of the drama as they refused to listen to the training regimen of their coach or their captain. 

Hesitance did not look great on Kevin, and it was as present when he was working the floor as when he was training horizontal bar. He was incredibly talented. Andrew wasn't an idiot. There was a reason they had sat on that World’s team together. But that was before he’d snapped the bones in his wrist, and now that was all Kevin seemed to focus on. 

Matt was the most skilled played the Foxes had on their roster, especially with Kevin’s recovery status. He was near perfect on rings, and strong on floor, vault, and horizontal bar. His pommel horse was his weakest, but passable for an all-around medal, and his parallel bars were sufficient enough to carry the team given Kevin’s injuries. With the right people pushing him, he could make it through worlds and probably medal. Andrew wondered why he wasn’t Kevin’s pet project. 

Then, just as Andrew was intent on making their presence known he found the eyes of someone watching him from the coaches box above the gym. A set of narrowed eyes focused on his own, a challenge and a question all in one expression. 

Andrew recognized his face from the television. Neil Josten. Kevin’s newest recruit to the Foxes. He was allegedly fresh from Millport, an amateur at best with less than a year of competitive experience under his belt. Andrew looked at his face and saw the lies clear as day. He wasn’t able to discern yet precisely what they were, but he didn’t expect it to take long. 

Neil had already made a name for himself in the gymnastics world. Unsurprisingly, it had little to do with his talent, and a lot more to do with telling Kevin’s former teammate, Riko Moriyama to essentially fuck off on live television. Andrew had initially categorized the move as attention seeking, but it didn’t seem the case now that he saw him in person. He was the first one to notice their presence, though Andrew saw Neil’s resistance in making his observations known to the other Foxes. Another reason to think him a liar, Andrew decided. 

Someone shouted at their arrival, the team loudmouth and captain, Danielle Wilds. The entire gym stilled so they could stare. 

Matt Boyd seemed to be the only one in the gym who didn’t hate Andrew for walking out of World’s if the looks the Foxes gave him were any indication. Though if Renee’s holier than thou routine she’d been spewing a year ago had stuck, Andrew doubted she cared very much either. 

Andrew dropped his bag at the entrance and went right for the vault track, where Renee had been practicing a double front. 

“Andrew,” Nicky hissed after him, trying and failing to remain stealthy. 

Andrew noticed Kevin perk up from where he was on the trampoline, bouncing to a slow stop so he could watch. 

“Andrew, it’s nice to see you. I was just warming up Yurchenko’s. Care to take a stab at one?” She was polite, but her word choice was intentional. Andrew saw straight through her saccharine smile and sugar plum rainbow hair. This girl had held him down with a knife in a dingy basement at a national gymnastics competition. 

He narrowed his eyes before rolling his neck and stretching his arms. 

He didn’t say a single word, instead of running full speed towards the vault table, arms prepped to go into a roundoff back-handspring. He stopped short two feet away, jumping as hard as he possibly could onto the springboard before passing over the table—not even grazing it with his feet—and into the foam pit that lay beyond it. 

He stayed submerged in foam for a moment before climbing out and raising his hands in a mocking performance. Wymack was waiting for him at the edge of the pit. 

“I know,” Andrew shrugged as he walked back towards the start of the track. “Landing was a little off.” 

“Just need a better running start. Laps will help with that. You can run them around the gym until Kevin wants to take over.” 

Wymack turned towards the rest of the team and clapped his hands together. “Listen up. Andrew Minyard has graciously come out of retirement, bringing his brother and cousin with him to join our team.” Wymack turned towards Aaron and Nicky. “Have the two of you been keeping up with your training?” 

Nicky had the decency to look sheepish. Aaron didn’t much care to beat it around the bush. “No.” 

“Alright Foxes. Now, being out of shape isn’t funny. So, no making fun of them.” 

Allison giggled from her position on the balance beam before turning back to work her skills. 

“Stretch and get on p-bars,” Wymack told them. “Let’s see what we are working with.”


	5. Chapter 5

Andrew was infuriating. This was the conclusion Neil came to at the start of Andrew’s first day. He wasn’t doing anything, which Neil supposed was probably better than the alternative. But every so often, Neil would find Andrew staring at him. Assessing, like he was trying to pick him apart with his eyes. It felt oddly exposing. Neil could barely make it through morning practice before he pulled Kevin aside. 

“He suspects something. I’m telling you,” Neil insisted after Kevin tried to blow him off. 

“You’re overreacting.” 

“I do not trust him,” Neil said.

“Is this really what you should be concerned with right now?” 

It was a rhetorical question, and Kevin walked away as if to emphasize that point. 

And of course, Kevin was right. There were other things Neil should be preoccupied with. Training, for example. Or how he was going to deal with Riko now that he had pissed him off. 

Neil didn’t want to think about Riko, though. He’d spent so long imagining what it would mean to be free, that when he finally killed his father, and those people that his father trusted he convinced himself that he would feel a weight lift off his shoulders. He’d be free, finally, once and for all. It was the dying demand of his mother to keep running, but it had only taken a few months for Neil to change his mind completely. Once she was dead, there was no one left to be accountable to. He took down his father in the span of eleven months. 

Finding Kevin had been sheer luck. With no one on his tail anymore, he decided to book it out west and live a quiet life in a small town. Millport should have been a stopping point, but the weight off of him had been suffocating. 

He’d wandered back into gymnastics less than three weeks after he’d conquered the only thing he’d ever really feared. 

When he’d mouthed off to Riko—despite knowing the weight the Moriyama name had attached—he’d never have expected Riko to figure it out. It was stupid, of course. In the knowledge that his father was dead, he’d never anticipated having to be afraid of anyone anymore. 

Riko contacted him in less than two weeks. 

Neil shook his head, pushing the memories away as he leaned against the padded wall of the gym. Pressing the heels of his palms hard into his eyes until the blackness behind his eyelids sparkled with stars, he took four deep breaths. He went through the motions of calming himself down, counting to ten in a smattering of languages, before opening his eyes and pulling his knee up to his chest. He let the tension in his hamstring fade with the thoughts of his past. 

His attention drifted back to Andrew, and he felt that pinprick of apprehension. Fear, about another person potentially knowing who he was. He had wanted a normal life, a life of anonymity, and Kevin had taken that away with promises he had been too stupid to ignore. There was no denying that Neil had to either live with the consequences or leave again, but for now, he could distract himself with thoughts of Andrew being the biggest problem he had to face.


	6. Chapter 6

Andrew was obstinate and ridiculous in his refusal to try. It drove Kevin nuts from the moment he laid eyes on him at the gym. 

He had natural ability most people would dream of. Kevin saw it in the subtly of his movements, in the strength of his body, the control in his execution. He’d been trained to spot perfection and chase it since he was a child; Andrew was the closest he had seen outside of Riko. 

But he wouldn’t perform. He’d run laps around the gym, lift weights, strengthen and stretch. When it came to pulling tricks or connecting skills, his refusals resonated across the gym with their staunch silence. 

For the first week, he wouldn't throw more than a back tuck. He wouldn’t touch rings or do more than a pirouette on the horizontal bar. And every time Andrew quietly refused, Neil's face turned into a smug smirk. 

It was Seth, whose patience broke first. He stopped his rotation on the tumble trak to point squarely at Andrew, who was balancing himself precariously on the girl’s balance beam. A place he had no business being. 

“Why the fuck is he wasting a spot on this team?” 

This amused Andrew, a smile spread wide across his lips as he laughed. “Just replace me with someone from the long lines of druggies waiting to bust down the door.” 

“The fuck did you just say to me?” Seth demanded. Kevin glanced at Neil who was pointedly ignoring the drama. He was trying and failing to surreptitiously get a sense without looking directly. 

Dan was on it immediately. “Can it, Seth.” She swiveled on Andrew. “Stop antagonizing my team.” 

Andrew looked down at her in mocking surprise. “Me? I didn’t even realize I was doing anything.” 

“You’re not,” Seth spat. 

“Ooh, fair point,” Andrew pretended to concede. 

Dan threw meaningful glares at each of them until it seemed they were over it. 

Seth mounted the horizontal bar to practice his routine. It was standard if a little sloppy, and Seth was pissed that Kevin wouldn’t choreograph a more complicated routine for him. It was his last year to qualify for nationals, and he kept insisting he needed a higher start value. 

Seth ran through the routine like he was on autopilot, no feeling and no precision in his motions. 

When he dismounted, Andrew let out a slow clap that echoed through the gym. 

“Wow.” Andrew let his mouth hang open smugly as he pretended to be impressed. 

“Jealous, Minyard? Or are you good hanging out on the girl’s apparatuses and wasting the oxygen in the gym?” 

Andrew laughed as he hopped off the balance beam. “Oh, definitely jealousy. It so refreshing to see your love for accuracy is intact.” 

Seth could hardly get his comeback out fast enough. “At least I didn’t make it all the way to Worlds and choke.” 

Andrew’s lips spread wider, and he let out a small laugh, walking a bit closer. 

“Here, let me show you how.” Andrew’s hands wrapped around Seth’s throat, throwing him down to the ground before squeezing harder. 

Seth was an elite gymnast. But there was a reason why he hadn’t qualified for worlds in the last two competition seasons. It had everything to do with his lack of dedication to training that had led to gaps in his training regimen. Gaps that had him writhing underneath Andrew, unable to throw him off. 

Andrew may not have been keeping up with his training either, but his strength was undeniable. He overpowered Seth in a matter of seconds. He kept his hands trained on Seth’s neck as he dropped closer to his face. 

“Getting close?” Andrew asked. 

Allison was shrieking behind him, Dan’s voice drowning out what she was saying. Boyd was stunned silent for a moment before he was pulling Dan back. 

Kevin felt himself tense, but he didn't have to drag his gaze away from 

“Don’t interfere,” Matt was saying. Her response was instant as she tried to get in the middle of Seth and Andrew. 

“Aren’t you going to do anything?” Dan demanded of Aaron and Nicky. 

“What would be the point?” Aaron asked flatly. 

“Guess he’s not a fan of homophobic assholes either,” was Nicky’s snarky response. 

It was Renee who was strangely silent. She walked over to Andrew, coming at him from the front so he could clearly see her every move. 

“Minyard.” Wymack’s voice stilled the gym. 

Andrew’s smile grew wider. 

“Just a few more seconds,” Andrew promised Seth as he clawed at Andrew’s hands. He took one hand off Seth’s neck, pinning him down with just one as he raised his arm and clenched his hand into a fist. 

Renee caught the impact of the punch in the palm of her hand, throwing the trajectory off of Seth’s face. She squeezed lightly at Andrew’s fist as it pinned her hand against the floor. Andrew broke eye contact with Seth to stare at Renee, a broad smile spreading across his lips. He said something quickly to her, and she nodded sharply. 

He let his grip loosen on Seth, who gasped in as much air as he could as he rolled away from Andrew. He kept his own hands pressed against his throat, almost as though he couldn’t believe it was still connected to his body. Allison rushed over. 

“I’m so jealous of Seth’s limited talent,” Andrew called out to the team as he stood up. He made his way over the horizontal bar that Seth had been practicing on. “That I’ve already remembered his preschool bar routine.” 

“I choreographed that routine,” Kevin said tentatively, already moving on from the drama in the gym and bright with curiosity at Andrew’s movement. 

“Don’t worry, Day. I won’t tell.” He pulled himself up onto the horizontal bar, sitting on top as he smiled widely. “Wouldn’t want that gold-winning reputation to be tainted.” 

He let himself fall backward out of the sitting position, his hands gripping the bar at the last possible second. He brought his legs underneath the bar, rolling himself into a handstand. 

“First we have a half-assessed pirouette,” he said, letting his hands alternate as he turned around on top of the bar while maintaining his handstand position. “Then a few useless bits of fluff.” 

Andrew’s legs spread wide as he swung around the bar once again, pausing up at the top in handstand position once again. 

“Followed by the saddest release move on the horizontal bar.” He swung around, hands letting go of the bar so he could straddle over the top before regripping the bar on his swing down. 

He swung around once more before perching himself back in the position he’d started—sitting a top of the bar looking down at the team as though they were less than ants. 

“Of course, I’ll need a dismount. But Seth would have had to land one for me to memorize what that looks like.” He sighed dramatically before perking up, leaning forward to stage-whisper to Renee. “How about a triple back?” He watched her intently for twenty seconds before he was moving on to something new. He let himself fall backward again, swinging around the bar to build moment for the dismount. The question got Neil's full attention. 

“You will not throw a triple back without training it,” Kevin said, surging forward from the other side of the gym. 

Even upside down the smile on his face was wide enough to see. 

“Close your eyes, Day.” 

Andrew underthrew his swing, flipping two and a half times before landing on his back. He rolled out of the dismount as he connected with the floor. 

Wymack stood over him, saying something in muted tones as Kevin rushed over. 

“Are you out of your mind?” Kevin demanded. “The fuck good are you to us if you break your neck?” 

Andrew rolled his head to the side, eyes leaving Wymack, but didn’t respond for a long moment. He allowed his head to roll back to towards Wymack before raising an eyebrow up at him. 

“See?” he asked Wymack. 

Wymack wasn’t looking at him anymore; he was studying Kevin. 

“Take the afternoon, Minyard,” he said. He looked back over at the rest of the team, who was staring at the three of them. Wymack sighed, rubbing a hand down his face.

“Allison, get Seth into Abby. I’m sure his windpipe is fifty kinds of screwed. Everyone else get back to your training. We only have so much time to fuck around before qualifiers start up again.” 

He walked back towards the uneven bars where he had been helping Dan, ushering everyone else into motion. 

Andrew saluted Kevin as he stood, and walked out of the building without another word. 

Practice went on much the same, not more than half an hour of stability passed before someone was erupting in conflict yet again. By the end of training, everyone was resigned to apparatuses as far apart from one another as they could manage. 

After everyone left, Kevin let himself into Wymack’s office. 

“You want to talk about Minyard,” Wymack said without looking up. 

“Yes.” 

Wymack laughed humorlessly. “This shit is out of my pay-grade.” 

Kevin tilted his head at him. “What do you mean?” 

“He said you would want to.” He looked at Kevin meaningfully before speaking again. “Talk about him, that is. He told me to be prepared to hear it later. I swear that little psychopath is a psychic.” 

“He can’t keep acting like this if we are going to keep him on this team. He has no place here if he’s going to be an embarrassment to us. He needs to be barred from the main gym until he starts following the rules. Let him train in the old gym.” 

“Guess we’ll need to find another person then if we want to send four people to qualify.” 

“That’s not what I’m suggesting.” 

“You may as well be. Minyard won’t follow rules that you set for him, and you’re kidding yourself if you think he will.” 

“Danger and risk is a part of what we do, but it’s calculated. It can’t be calculated if he doesn’t respect the rules.” 

Wymack gave him the most pathetic look he’d been given in a long time. “You wanted him because he doesn't respect the rules. If you wanted another cookie-cutter gymnast, we could have pulled one from another gym. You sold me on Minyard, made me bring them all out here and now what? You’re pissed because he won’t listen to you?” 

“He won’t do anything—” 

“And that’s what you should be pissed about. Don’t be blindsided by your need to control him.” 

“What do you suggest then, coach?” It was sarcastic, but Kevin was beyond respect at this point. He’d watched days of Andrew waltzing around the gym wasting their time. 

“It’s not my job to control my players. Beyond honoring the deal I made with him, I’m content to wait him out. Too many other fires to put out, wouldn’t you agree?” 

“I don’t want to wait it out.” 

“No. No, I know you don’t.” Wymack narrowed his eyes, assessing Kevin for a moment. “Get out of my office before you tell me and make me culpable.” 

Kevin turned around and exited the office. 

“And let me know if it goes well,” Wymack said as Kevin was closing the door.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew and Kevin have a chat in a diner.

Andrew had planned on having a chat with Renee following what had happened at practice today. She was too assured as he interrupted his fist. If she was offering sparring lessons again, then she had a funny style of invitation. He’d have to remind her of a few stipulations they’d made the last time.

He’d already made it clear to Nicky and Aaron which of the Foxes he intended to get more familiar with. Andrew was careful to leave out Neil. It was too soon to mention anything to others. And they mostly seemed on board, though Nicky seemed surprised Seth wasn’t a part of it.

“With Aaron and everything.” He looked sheepish as he said it. Referring to Aaron’s rocky sobriety always had him in that state, but Aaron was barely paying attention.

“He’s too pathetic,” Aaron said without looking up from a book he was reading.

“There you have it, Nicky,” Andrew said with extended arms. “Too pathetic to make a difference.”

“Okay…” Nicky said tentatively. “But why Renee again?”

“Why are you even asking?” Aaron said, setting the book down this time. “He’s going to dig until he finds out whatever he wants to about her, and it’s not as though you wouldn’t love the gossip.”

“I take serious offense to that,” Nicky said, turning his nose up at Aaron. “Just because nothing interesting is going on in the middle of the fucking woods does not mean I would resort to—”

“Yeah, sure,” Aaron cut him off, picking his book back up.

Andrew needed to think about the best way to approach Renee, and how to get her to talk. That required silence and brain food.

“Ice cream,” Andrew announced, grabbing his keys from his dresser.

“Ooh,” Nicky said excitedly. “Cherry Garcia for me.”

Andrew didn’t bother to acknowledge it as he left.

The cabin was filled with movement. Their evening Practice had let out thirty minutes ago, and dinner was busy being prepared downstairs. Andrew ignored it as he considered Renee for the fourth time today.

As Andrew turned down the hallway, Kevin’s form caught his eye outside the window. He was leaned against Andrew’s car, waiting what appeared to be patiently for Andrew to emerge. Andrew abandoned all thoughts of Renee as he turned downstairs and towards the front of the cabin.

“That’s my car you’re leaning against,” Andrew called out as soon as he made it through the front door.

Kevin didn’t adjust himself. He kept his arms crossed and his back pressed against the driver’s side door. “Let’s go for a drive.”

Andrew didn’t hesitate, didn’t even stop his stride as continued walking towards the car. Kevin didn’t move—not even as Andrew pulled on the door handle to the car and nudged him forward.

The stayed that way for a moment, face to face, staring at each other with less than an inch between them. Kevin was slouched, so it was a rare moment where their eyes aligned with each other.

“You’ll eventually have to get in the car if you want to go for a drive,” Andrew pointed out.

Kevin ducked himself careful out from where he was practically pinned against Andrew, and walked around the front of the car.

“There’s a diner a little while up the highway,” Kevin explained. “It’s the only place for miles.”

Andrew put no hesitation in speeding away from the cabin. When they reached the highway, the speedometer only climbed.

“Good engine.”

“Thought you’d be scared for your life about now.” Andrew kept his eyes focused out the windshield. “Ending that career and all.”

“Couldn’t get much worse than what it is now.”

Andrew gave a single dry laugh. “Of all the moments to have a backbone, Day.”

They didn’t speak again until they pulled into the parking lot of a dinner six miles away. The neon sign was pink “Sweeties” lit across with a heart of the i.

They walked in, took a seat at a booth right in front of the window facing where they parked.

“Getcha boys something to eat?” The waitress asked.

“Black coffee,” Kevin said without looking at the menu.

Andrew studied the back of the laminated paper before looking up at her.

“Triple-decker sundae.”

“You got it,” she confirmed before taking their menus.

Kevin waited until she came back with his coffee to speak. Andrew was fine with waiting him out.

“I know what you want,” Kevin said finally.

Andrew laughed. “Do you now?”

“I do. And you know what I want.”

“No, Kevin. That’s where you’re wrong. I haven't the slightest fucking clue what you want.”

“I brought you here to VGA for a reason.”

“Because of an obsession, you mean.”

“This isn’t our first time sharing a gym. I saw it at Worlds.”

“And what happened there?” Andrew laughed. “You’re no less arrogant than you were than and no more worth my time.”

Kevin took a deep breath. He spent months playing this game with Andrew before. “I'm serious. You’re worth something, and you could prove it everyone.”

“I’m not you. I don’t measure my worth in the weight of everyone else’s eyes.”

“You could have been great,” Kevin said.

Andrew laughed. “Oh, Day. You’re not really pulling the ‘you could have been great’ speech again. Isn’t this about the tenth time you’ve tried it on me? What more could you possibly have to say?”

“You give me the speech then if I’m so unoriginal.”

Andrew blew the air out of his cheeks, reaching for the sugar packets already laid out in a container on the side of the table. He ripped one open and upended the contents of the packet before grabbing another.

“Natural talent out of the ass. Skills people would kill to master. More talent than you know what to do with it, and you’re wasting it. You’ve walked out on an opportunity at gold once before, why do it again? You’re quitting before you even start. Blah blah blah,” Andrew said. He narrowed his eyes at Kevin. “I wasn’t talented. I was obedient. That’s what you want from me now.”

Andrew didn’t say anything else. He picked at the pile of sugar on the table, sticking his finger into the small mountain he’d created. He brought his finger up to his mouth and licked the sugar off.

Kevin blew it away in one quick breath, beckoning Andrew’s attention.

“Rude,” Andrew said with an exaggerated sigh.

“You are talented. And I already knew you weren’t obedient when we brought you the contract. You could do something amazing. You’re worth that.”

Andrew smiled. “Nobody cares what I do.”

“You’re right.” Kevin didn’t even hesitate as he said it. “No one cares what you decide. But you’ll have to keep living your life either way. I can make it mean something.”

“It’s almost comical, how you keep holding on to that. I don’t care about gymnastics, or championships, or any of that. Why would I want to create my life around such an asinine sport?”

“Do you have anything else?”

Andrew laughed, low and hollow, before waving a finger at Kevin. “You know people told me you were clever. But I never quite believed them.”

Kevin didn’t bite Andrew’s bait.

The waitress came over with Andrew’s dessert, which he dove into immediately. The sugar rushed against his tongue and down his throat.

“Train at the old gym,” Kevin decided after a moment. “I can see you don’t want to struggle in front of them.”

“You can see it, huh?” Andrew was smiling. He shoved another bite into his mouth, speaking around it. “Delusion knows no bounds does it?”

Kevin had picked up on one or two things in the time since he’d known Kevin.   
“What do you need from me to do it? To get you to try?”

At this, Andrew looked up. He studied Kevin for a moment. “Interesting.”

“You operate in transactions. Tit-for-tat. I’m offering something to build your life around, but it won’t mean anything if there isn’t some transaction involved, right?” He didn’t wait for Andrew to confirm. “So what is it? What do you want from me?”

Andrew didn’t hesitate. “Your truth.”

“My truth,” Kevin repeated.

Andrew reached across the table, grabbing Kevin’s wrist firmly.

“Skiing accident.” It was all Andrew said, but it was enough.

“In the car,” Kevin said. He tried his best not to look dodgy. His effort fell flat.

Andrew stood immediately, abandoning the rest of his meal. He threw some loose bills onto the table before walking out of the diner.

Kevin scrambled to get to his feet and out the door.

Andrew already had the car started when Kevin got in, but instead of turning back towards the cabin he continued on the same stretch of highway.

He drove for twenty-two minutes in the opposite direction from which they’d come, silent the entire time. Kevin must have sensed that Andrew was waiting for them to arrive before he bothered to listen to Kevin’s story.


	8. Chapter 8

It was silent for twenty-two minutes. Andrew didn’t even have the car radio on. They pulled off onto the backroads until Andrew parked the car at the edge of a vast lake.

“Where are we?” Kevin asked.

“Lake Marion,” Andrew said dismissively as he turned towards Kevin. “Now tell me.”

Kevin looked out at the immense span of water, with the stars reflecting against its surface. Maybe looking out at an expanse like this was supposed to calm something deep inside of him, but all it did was make him uneasy. The last time he’d faced this much water had been in the back of a limo with the Moriyamas four years ago. The lake made him feel insignificant. This was not a welcome feeling.

“Riko broke my wrist.” It came out in a hush, but Kevin smiled bitterly as he said it. “You already know when.”

It happened right after US championships in August. It was the start of March now, and his wrist was just barely back where it had been.

“Wymack had been there in Milwaukee with Boyd.” Matt Boyd had been the only member of the Foxes to make it to championships last year, but it was the first seat they’d won since VGA had opened almost three years ago. “Matt had already lost his qualifying spot, so there hadn’t been a need to stick around. We flew back to South Carolina that night. Riko was furious, but he knew better than to do anything reckless. Two months later I went on the record as VGA’s new assistant coach.”

“So that’s what it took for you to get out.” Andrew was unsympathetic as he said it.

Kevin angled towards him slightly, pulling his eyes away from the lake. “You already know about the Moriyamas.”

It was true. Andrew had told Kevin as much when they had sat on the Worlds team together. He knew all about the Moriyamas family business, the implications of Riko’s power, the claws that family had dug into Kevin’s life. He’d taunted Kevin with it while they were at worlds, and was not shy about letting Riko in on his knowledge either.

Kevin held up his wrist between the two of them to emphasize his point. “Faulty merchandise.”

Andrew saw right through it. Kevin wondered vaguely what the point of telling him any of this was when he had already figured it out.

“They’ve let you play assistant coach with the Foxes because it doesn’t interfere with their plans, but they don’t know you’re planning to compete.”

Kevin choose not to confirm it outright. “I can’t stay away.”

He expected Andrew to be difficult. Point out, how he could stay away if only he let his obsession die.

“You want protection,” Andrew said instead. He was still looking at Kevin, but his face gave nothing away.

“If anyone could give it to me, it would be you,” Kevin said honestly. He had been thinking about it since he’d gone to the Foxes, wondering how he might be able to prolong his stay there.

“Hm,” Andrew hummed. “Surprising.”

“What is?”

“Your attack dog can’t be worth all that much if you came looking for me. All bark and no bite?”

“This isn’t about Neil,” Kevin insisted, quickly.

“Isn’t it?” Andrew countered.

“You know how Riko reacts around you.”

“You thought me just being here would be enough?”

“Hoped.”

“Hoped.” Andrew laughed. “You’re not stupid enough to think that.”

Kevin knew what Riko would do when he found out, but he wasn’t in the mood to be honest with himself about it. His eyes traced the scars along his hand and wrist.

“So now you’re asking me for two things,” Andrew said thoughtfully. “Not only to try, but also to protect you while you play a sport you’re too insane to stay away from.”

“You know that even if I stayed away, he would never let me go.”

“Again, two favors.”

“I don’t want to go back—” Kevin started before steeling himself. “I can’t go back.”

“So, don’t.”

Kevin felt his anger rise. “Don’t say it like it’s simple.”

“Protection, huh.” Andrew tapped his finger against his chin. “Guess I really did a number on Riko last time for you to be serious about this.”

Riko had tried to fuck with Andrew a total of one time. He’d underestimated Andrew’s penchant for violence once, and it was unlikely he would do so again.

Kevin didn’t bother confirming something they both knew.

“If I do this, that means—”

“I know what it means,” Kevin said, cutting him off.

Andrew looked at him carefully with a broad smile. “Don’t be mad that you didn't read the fine print after the fact.”

“I see you with Aaron and Nicky. I know what it means.”

“Alrighty then, if you insist.”

“He’ll come for me. I’m not sure how, but he will eventually.”

“Shh, Kevin, shh…That’s what this whole thing is all about. Last and only line of defense when big bad Riko comes to blow your house down. All you need to worry about is me. I handle everything else. Now, there’s still this small matter of two favors.”

“One favor.”

“I don’t recall you offering anything of value previously.”

“I’ll make your life mean something.”

“And why would I care about that?”

It had been eating at Kevin since their conversation at the courthouse, Andrew’s apathy towards the sport and towards his existence that didn’t quite match up with the rest of what he was doing. Kevin had seen a dozen forms of desperation in his life. Maybe more, with how desperate the Ravens had been in their own various ways. He’d always known how to capitalize on that desperation, how to manipulate it in his players. Riko was a master at it, but Kevin had learned for survival.

“You want off your medication.”

“Wymack already made that deal with me.”

“Not just for meets. After this competition cycle, I’ll get you off.”

“It’s kind of a permanent thing.”

“I’ll petition the judge. I wouldn’t offer it if I couldn’t guarantee. Place at nationals, get a bid to Worlds, and I’ll start the proceedings.”

Andrew was silent for a moment. “As for the other favor?”

“You remember better than anyone how you felt before.” Kevin didn’t feel the need to elaborate any more than that. “I’ll give you something to build your life around.”

Andrew started laughing. “It might be just amusing enough to watch you try. I’ll bite, Day. Protection and trying. Let’s see how long the second one lasts.”

“What about Neil?” Kevin asked. It needed to be asked. Even with Andrew protecting Kevin, it wouldn’t be enough to keep Riko off Neil.

The look Andrew leveled on Kevin told him everything he needed to know about Andrew’s willingness to extend the deal he’d struck with Kevin to Neil. Kevin knew better to push when he had nothing else to bargain with, and he trusted Neil to figure something out for himself. If Neil had known he’d even asked, he’d probably kill Kevin himself.

“Bored now with negotiations.” Andrew started the engine up again and turned the volume on the radio just loud enough that having a conversation would be difficult. He pulled out without another word.

Kevin, content enough to remain silent through the remainder of the car ride, used the time to devise the best training strategy for someone as hopelessly out of shape as Andrew. It was likely he hadn’t done any gymnastics drills in over a year, and besides jumping through house windows on BMX bikes, hadn’t challenged himself with any tricks in equally as long.

Kevin tried to convince himself that all he needed was Andrew to do things during practice. For now, that would be enough. When he got him off the medication, he could concern himself with things like motivation. Kevin wasn’t stupid enough to think that all of the quirks in Andrew’s personality were the result of the drugs, but the limits of his attention span were most definitely a huge side effect. For now, it was all about keeping things interesting long enough for Andrew to care. That, combined with their strange deal, would get Andrew through the qualifiers. Of this, Kevin had no doubt.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo...it's kind of been a while. Apologies for the delay. I realized that this was one of the chapter that had to be completely regutted, and I wanted to make sure that the plans I had for the fic did not get spoiled by conflicting revisions. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy! Feedback is always appreciated.

Neil was sitting on the edge of Kevin’s bed when he pushed the door to his room open.

“You’re out of your mind,” Neil declared, standing up as soon as Kevin crossed the threshold. “You didn’t even tell me you were leaving.”

Kevin closed the door, letting out a breath as he leaned against it.

“Andrew decided he would deal with Riko on my behalf.”

“Like…deal with?” Neil asked, miming slitting a throat with his thumb.

“Don’t be an idiot,” Kevin said as he crossed the room towards his dresser. “Riko won’t bother to do anything stupid with Andrew around.”

“Why would Andrew stop him from doing whatever the fuck he wants?”

“Because he already tried it with Andrew and it did not go well.”

“That’s it?” Neil asked, unimpressed. Kevin didn’t seem to have any more information to divulge.

“You didn’t tell him about me, did you?”

“Of course not.”

“He can’t know,” Neil said a little desperately.

“I know that.” Kevin sighed. “I tried to negotiate protection for you, too.”

Neil could hardly believe his ears. “Why would you try that?” Neil demanded.

“Because Andrew could be an ally to you. As soon as you decide to get over—” He waved his hand impatiently in the air. “Whatever you have between the two of you.”

“Andrew is vindictive and manipulative. He doesn’t need any information on me.”

“I’ve known Andrew a lot longer than you, Neil.”

“And you’ve never had to hide your identity from someone, Kevin. Your opinion on the matter is irrelevant.” Neil was up and heading toward the door before Kevin could continue to try and convince him.

"Don't be dramatic," Kevin called out after him as he stepped out of the room. Neil pulled the door closed in response.

He made it halfway down the hallway before realizing that he was not alone.

“Neil Josten.”

Neil felt the hair on his arms stand at attention over Andrew’s greeting. He turned around to see Andrew leaning against the wall in the hallway.

“I had an interesting conversation about you today.”

“Riveting,” Neil said as he continued towards his room. “Excuse me for not caring.”

“So polite,” Andrew said with a small laugh. He cut Neil off before he could open the door to his room, a hand against the wall next to his head stopping him short.

“If you wanted to talk,” Neil said slowly, turning towards him and stepping out of the barrier Andrew had created in front of his bedroom door. “All you had to do was ask. I would have turned you down without the theatrics.”

“And he can joke, too,” Andrew said with a wide smile. “I would know. I have an excellent sense of humor.”

“That should be your next headline.”

“I’ll call up the Times.”

Andrew’s smile stayed fixed in place as his voice pivoted to something much more dangerous.

“Kevin seems to think you need protection from Riko Moriyama. And I think it has to do with something more serious than your little attitude on national television.”

“Well, you’re free to think whatever you want, no matter how delusional it may be.”

Andrew took one giant step towards Neil’s side of the hallway, bringing his arms up to box Neil in once again. He laid the palm of his left on the wall next to Neil’s head.

Neil felt his entire body thrumming with adrenaline. He knew what Andrew was looking for, any indication of discomfort, so he did his best to school his features. Andrew noticed anyway.

“You’ll have to be quicker than that,” Andrew chastised. “Running through the layout of the building in your mind now? I bet you’re calculating exactly how many seconds it will take you to make a break for it. The second floor, so most of your options rely on jumping. Though you didn’t start training gymnastics because you enjoyed it, did you? Practical skill, flying through the air.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Neil said stubbornly.

“For now,” Andrew said slowly.

“It will take more than vague threats in empty hallways to get rid of me.”

“I’m assuming this might do the trick,” Andrew said as a cold blade pressed against Neil’s stomach.

“You think Wymack will reserve your spot on the team if you gut one of his athletes?”

“I’m sure we could find a way past it. I can be pretty persuasive. Call it charm or persistence, but I usually get my way.”

“And you think you’ll do Kevin any favors, killing me right outside his door? I thought you’re supposed to be protecting him.”

“Oh, Neil. You speak about me as though I have no restraint.”

They stayed like that a moment. Neil refused to subtly beg for his life any further, realizing the game Andrew was playing. Andrew stayed steadfast for a few more minutes, examining something on Neil’s face. Neil couldn’t help the smile that was spreading across his face. Figure it his luck that he come here, piss of Riko on national television, expose himself, remind Kevin of his past, and its a five-foot psychopath he never figured he’d meet that was deciding the fate of his life.

“Interesting, Josten,” Andrew said before letting him go.

Neil brought his fingers up to the smile on his face, brushing lightly across his lips as he watched Andrew retreat down the hallway.

 


	10. Chapter 10

The deal was that Andrew try, and he had every intention of pushing the definition of that word as far as it would go.

He worked in practice, did the drills Kevin told him to do, but beyond the bare minimum he didn’t bother. It only took three days before he found an intense amusement in fucking with Kevin. It almost didn’t matter what Andrew did, as long as it wasn’t the thing Kevin was making him do. Less effort, more effort, Kevin’s reaction varied each time. Andrew had always thought everything about Kevin was fixed, easily analyzed. Instead, he was finding that even Kevin didn’t know how the fuck he was going to react to Andrew’s ridiculousness. It didn’t usually last long, Kevin would disengage after the fourth or fifth attempt Andrew gave to get a rise out of him, but it was enough that Andrew could entertain himself and still keep the ridiculous deal they’d arranged. And for Andrew that was enough.

It took two weeks for Andrew to get back to a level that wasn’t resoundingly pathetic. Andrew, for all his lack of caring, refused to struggle in front of the Foxes no matter how indifferent he felt towards the stupid sport.

Given the deal he’d made with Kevin, Kevin moved with Andrew, Aaron, and Nicky into the old gym to work through training. This deal was not an arrangement Josten enjoyed—and he was sure to voice his opinion often. But Kevin stuck to his word and listened to what Andrew told him to do concerning his safety. Part of that arrangement was cutting down on his alone time with Neil. This was another detail Andrew delighted in, particularly the scowl that Neil continued to throw his way whenever they were not at the old gym.

Kevin worked cousins rather intensely, especially the first week. So much so, that even the rotating ice baths did little to help any of them.

Nicky’s complaints punctuated every workout and every evening. He wouldn’t stop referring to his arms as various gelatinous subjects, though as the days continued his inspiration started waning.

Any remaining silence was taken up with Kevin’s shouting, and Aaron’s cursing. Andrew was in the middle of wondering how many times Aaron would eat mat before punching Kevin in the face when he was called back to the vault table.

Andrew had learned very early on in the sport that it was the duty of gymnastics to tell you no, all day long. For most people, it was mocking—taunting even. That’s definitely how Aaron saw it. And, while Andrew couldn’t disagree that the sport was designed to expose people’s own idiocy to even try flinging their bodies around the air, he also couldn’t disagree that there had been a part of him, at one time, that wanted all the things Kevin kept dangling in front of him.

If nothing else, gymnastics was a challenge. It asked you to look at an impossible fucking mountain and claw your way up, no matter what you broke in the process.

The only reason he, and everyone else for that matter, was pulling these tricks was because someone, somewhere, at some time, decided they didn’t care if it was nuts or if they got killed, they were going to climb an insanely high mountain, just to see what it looked like at the top. And when you’re the first to climb a new mountain in gymnastics, they name it after you. This fact, more than anything, had fueled his youth. And he was willing to endure any training to attain it.

Andrew had spent most of his life being told by others that he was psychotic, but it was the same psychosis that landed everyone into the sport in the first place.

“Run your vault. Give me a twisting rotation,” Kevin said.

“Give you, huh?” Andrew asked, not moving from his spot in the middle of the mat. He was sprawled out spread eagle style, staring up at the ceiling. He didn’t bother to look at Kevin.

“That’s right. Let’s go.”

“Oh,” Andrew said excitedly. “Where are we going?”

Kevin fixed him with a cold stare. “If you’re waiting for me to care about whether or not you get up, you’ll be here for a while.”

“Wow, Day. You’ll need to run some drills if you want to improve your lying.”

As Kevin opened his mouth, Andrew closed his eyes and started humming.

Kevin waited him out. And Andrew was only mildly irritated that his capacity for enduring boredom was microscopic.

“What, no speech?” he asked.

“If you want to run down the clock on practice, be my guest. Our deal doesn’t work if you don’t place at the meet. And that’s a near impossibility with how you’re acting now.”

“An impossibility, eh?”

Kevin didn’t move away from Andrew, but he called out to Aaron to fix the placement of his hands on the parallel bars. Aaron let out a string of expletives but listened.

Andrew bounced up, and again Kevin stood unmoving, eyes watching him lazily. He was expecting a half-ass vault; it was evident in his body language. It was nearly the end of practice, and Andrew had been intentionally difficult all day.

Andrew knew where his body needed to be to start throwing tricks he had used at Worlds. And he could feel it, through the soreness in his muscles, and the protests of his joints, that he was nearly there. So the decision to pull a handspring double front didn’t come out of nowhere. It had been, after all a handspring double front with a half twist that landed him through Nationals last time.

The decision to pull it right now was a slightly different story.

His feet hit the mat, though his legs gave out underneath him as his ass connected with the floor. If they were in competition, he would have lost a point deduction for the flub, but it wouldn’t have been a scratch. He might even have done well enough to advance. His grin was wide as he spread his arms out and bowed.

Kevin looked unimpressed. “Your second rotation was below the vault table. That sloppiness won’t fly.”

“You wound me,” Andrew deadpanned. “However will I recover from your stony indifference?”

“However will you recover from a broken neck?” Kevin countered.

Andrew laughed. “Maybe I won’t.”

“You’re ready to go back with the full team,” Kevin said. “No more wasting our time in this gym.”

“Ooh, am I really now?” Andrew said, all false cheer. “Letting me play with the big kids now, coach?”

“Knock it off,” Kevin said. “You need to start training with the full team if you are going to get the drills that will have you placing at the first meet.”

The sound of a body slamming against a mat echoed through the gym while Andrew stared up at Kevin from the floor. Andrew didn’t even bother to look in the direction of the horizontal bar from which Nicky fell.

“Ow,” Nicky said as he let out a long groan.

“Other pupils to attend to,” Andrew said to Kevin as Nicky’s groaning started up again. “Better get going.”

“Throw your double again,” Kevin said threateningly, pointing a finger down at Andrew before turning off to deal with Nicky’s dismounting problems.


	11. Chapter 11

Two sleepless weeks later, and Kevin was leading the Foxes through the entrance of the local gym holding the Southeast Selections Showing. It was the smell of the meet that had Kevin soaking in nostalgia. The royal blue gymnastics mats rolled out across the floors of the gym. The smell of chalk and hairspray and sweat. Judges were setting up their scoring tables while gymnastics cycled through their routine warmups. 

Kevin had insisted the Foxes arrive early, knowing they would need time to have the gym to themselves before the Ravens showed up. Of course, with it being the Foxes, that didn’t end up happening. 

There was red and black everywhere. Kevin barely had a moment to appreciate the gym before he was filled with a different emotion entirely. Ravens that saw him, ignored him so thoroughly and completely that he wished he could feel invisible.  

Andrew was at his side, the other Foxes rushing off to claim their spots on their respective warm up apparatuses. Renee stuck behind for a moment, looking back to Kevin and Andrew before she finally went off too. 

As Kevin turned to speak to Andrew, movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. 

 A girl, about the same height as Neil threw her drink into Neil’s face. Soda splashed along the front of of his uniform. The wet fabric clung to his skin as the sticky sugar glued it in place. His uniform was completely ruined. For a moment he was completely stunned, staring dumbfounded at the stain on his chest.

“For messing with Riko,” the girl said indignantly. She seemed terrified almost the moment the words were out of her mouth, her anger and adrenaline only making her through this moment in her mind.  

Kevin stepped swiftly in front of Andrew, who had taken a step forward and was laughing maniacally.  

“You’ve really got some death wish,” Andrew laughed. “I didn’t realize Raven’s fans were as suicidal as they were stupid.” 

“Go,” Kevin said to the girl without sparing a glance away from Andrew. 

He didn’t reach for Andrew, knowing better at this point than to make unsolicited contact. But he kept eye contact. He knew the look Andrew saw on his face, desperate. He couldn’t afford a scene right before going back to competition. 

He turned to Neil, who looked equally murderous now that the shock had worn off. 

 “Typical of a Raven’s fan to run away,” he yelled after her. 

Andrew stayed where he was with his ridiculous smile on his face. 

“Smooth recovery there, Josten.” 

“Shut up,”Kevin said as he took out his wallet and handed Neil a stack of bills. “Get a new singlet from the concession stand. You look like a fucking mess.” 

Neil snatched the cash, crumpling it in his fist and stalked off towards the stands in search of a proper uniform. 

“Go stretch,” Kevin told Andrew, unprepared to deal with his commentary on Neil’s popularity amongst fans. 

Andrew obliged, sticking close to Kevin’s side as they headed towards the mats with the other Foxes. 

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Andrew warned as Kevin continued looking through the sea of black and red. He hadn’t seen Riko yet, but he suspected it would be coming soon. 

By the time Neil came back in a fresh singlet, the Foxes were through their stretches and warming up their apparatuses. 

“It looks hideous,” Kevin said, frowning as he stared at the black and green fabric. It clashed horrifically with the orange and white of the Foxes’ uniforms. 

For this observation, Andrew had no commentary. 

“It was all they had,” Neil bit back. “Now, can I prepare to compete, or are we going to debate the aesthetic appeal of my outfit some more?” 

“Go,” Kevin dismissed with a sigh. As he waved a hand to dismiss Neil, a flock of black and red caught his peripheral. Neil stiffened before stepping slightly in front of Kevin. Kevin noticed Andrew’s eyebrow raise at Neil’s reaction. 

Jean and Riko, the former a solid foot taller than the latter, stood at the center of the group. Each of the Ravens wore a cool look of unconcerned disdain. They didn’t bother watching anyone as various teams warmed up. They gave the air that they just simply did not have to.

It was unclear when they had switched directions, or if they had intended to come toward the Foxes the whole time. But as they approached, Kevin noticed Dan and Matt instinctively draw near. Where as nearly every other person tensed, Neil became more pliant. He was lose, muscle and bone ready to do whatever was necessary. Kevin would almost admire him if he weren’t so fucking stupid. Andrew remained bored, both in stance and facial expression. 

Riko stopped three feet in front of Kevin—close enough to be a reminder and just barely out of reach. Kevin wasn’t sure why this small display of power absolutely decimated him inside. He felt guilt, and fear, crawl out of his stomach and through his veins. A flush of heat, and then a wash of cold went over his body. And it was a moment before Kevin realized Riko had spoken to him. 

“I was under the impression southern hospitality dictated individuals act more polite, not less. Or is it customary to ignore a person when they address you, Kevin?” 

“We spend our time focusing on training, not niceties,” Dan said before Kevin could reply. 

“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” Riko drawled. 

“I’m sure I can help you figure it out,” Andrew said with a wide smile. 

Riko seemed a bit startled to be addressed so directly by Andrew. His eyes flicked quickly to Kevin before settling back on Andrew. 

“I suppose I shouldn’t expect anything but violence from you, Doe.” 

It was an old insult, long proven ineffective, but Riko clung to it like it was the one thing tethering him to the ground. 

“I’m surprised you’re stupid enough to imagine you can expect anything at all.” 

Riko ignored him, eyes sweeping in an exaggerated scan across the rest of the Foxes. He stopped squarely on Neil, his grin anything but friendly. 

“And then we have the other charity case.” 

Jean spoke. His voice was harsh and low, quiet in its instability. “Maybe we should put in a request with the announcers.” Jean leaned over a little closer, pushing himself into Neil’s space. “Who was it again? Alex? Stefan? Chris?”

Kevin watched Neil go rigid all over, the names of his past lives rushing over him like an ice bath.

Neil’s voice was steady, but Kevin could sense the fear of it when he answered. “Neil Josten.”

“Right,” Jean said. His gaze was assessing. “You don’t look much like a Neil.” 

“Take it up with my mother.” 

“We’ll have to do that. She’s here watching I’m sure?” 

Kevin felt energy vibrate off Neil, watched as Neil’s hands clenched into fists. 

“She doesn’t come to my meets.” 

“Shame. How does it feel to be the son of an absentee parent?” Riko asked. 

“Everyone handles it differently,” Neil said tightly. “Maybe we can get a quote on your take for the camera, eh Riko? Or has your daddy suddenly decided to take an interest in your extracurriculars?” 

It was like someone cut the one string holding back the tension of the moment. There was a rush of silence and then a quicker snap of action. Riko stepped forward, hand extended, and Jean matched his step. The movements were minuscule but targeted, and the Foxes met each of the Ravens face on. 

Andrew got to Riko before his hand landed on Neil’s shoulder. A palm pressed squarely against Riko’s chest was enough to make Riko stop, his eyes wide with fear. 

“Shh,” Andrew cooed soothingly. He leaned in a bit closer into Riko’s space and stage whispered, all smiles and malice. “You’re in public. Don’t forget.” 

Riko took a small, barely perceptible step back, keeping his eyes locked on Andrew for a moment before looking hastily around. 

No one else was paying attention to them, by some small miracle. 

Riko opened his mouth to speak again, and Andrew’s head tilted to the side in exaggerated confusion. 

“You really are shit at following directions, aren’t you? Shut up. Walk away.” He tapped a finger against his chin before spreading a saccharine smile across his face. “Actually, no. Stay. C’mon, I dare you.” 

Riko, obviously unsettled, turned promptly on his heel, snapping at the rest of the team to focus on their performance and warm ups. 

“That was tense,” Dan said the moment they were out of earshot. She turned on Neil. “Are you an idiot?” 

“Clearly,” Andrew sung. 

Matt had a slightly different reaction. He was clapping Neil hard on the shoulder, a wide smile on his face. “I thought you were crazy after Kathy’s show, but this is a whole new level. You’re really not afraid of him, are you? That was badass as hell.” 

“Andrew basically treated him the same as I did.” 

“Andrew’s like that with everyone,” Matt dismissed. “Who would have known you had such balls?” 

“Yes. Yes,” Andrew said with an exaggerated round of applause. “Who knew such a tiny rabbit could have such a thick spine?”

“Oh, come off it, Andrew,” Matt said. His words had a fondness that turned Andrew off immediately. They dispersed to warmup, with Matt still singing Neil’s praises. 

Kevin couldn’t rub away the residual tension from the interaction with Riko. Every time he closed his eyes to take a breath, he watched Riko breaking his hand all over again, hot pain searing along his wrist. When he opened them, and took in all of the eyes on him, he couldn’t get a breath in. His facade was breaking, and one look from Andrew told him it showed. 

Andrew laughed at the desperate look Kevin threw at him. “Everyone’s on the edge of their seats to see the big Kevin Debut. Day-buu. Get it, Day?

Kevin leaned in a little closer as they prepared to take the stage with the rest of the team. 

“You need to smile more.” His words were so close to Andrew’s neck they must have tickled. His body shuttered imperceptibly as Kevin continued talking. “If you don’t want it to be obvious you aren’t on your drugs.” 

“You’re smarter than you look, Day.” 

“I’m not paid to be smart.” 

“No, I guess it doesn't pay after all.”

 Kevin hated the half-conversation inlaid with double meanings they always seemed to have, but he didn’t mind being this close in Andrew’s personal space. It kept him focused on not freaking the fuck out. He kept his face carefully composed as they stared at each other. Whatever Andrew was feeling, the fake smile on his face was masking it well. For anyone else it wouldn’t be a question that Andrew was medicated. 

 “Are you going to try today?” 

The question ruined everything. Kevin knew this, but he had to ask anyway. He had to know the answer, especially before he took to the bars for the first time in nearly eight months. 

The look of apathy Andrew sent his way was all the answer he needed. 

Kevin allowed himself to imagine a world in which things were different. A world where Andrew tried. A world where Kevin stopped caring about shrinking himself to fit Riko. All through the announcements of each team, through the polite clapping and the rambunctious applause, he imagined himself living in that world. And then, because he liked to torture himself, he reminded himself every painful way in which he was not and would never have those things in his life. By the time he was ready to start prepping for his event, he was squarely back on the ground. Reality had a hold of him once more. Imagination time over. 

Renee moved closer to Kevin as they waited patiently for the first gymnast to take parallel bars. 

“Excited?” she asked pleasantly as she placed a comforting hand on Kevin’s shoulder. 

Sometimes he felt like he could melt into the affection Renee showed him, but he never allowed himself to. Bad habit, he supposed. 

“Thrilled,” Andrew said, all teeth as he smiled at her. 

Kevin wasn’t sure what it was between the two of them. He couldn’t make sense of how quickly they had grown close, or how just her presence seemed to have a pacifying effect on Andrew. As pacifying as was possible anyway. 

“You’re up on deck for parallel bars, Day,” Andrew said without taking his eyes off Renee. 

He had three minutes on the bars to prep, and two minutes after that before Andrew was up on vault. 

The prep run on parallel bars didn’t entail a full run-through of the routine, for Kevin it was all about grip. Getting a grip on his head and getting a grip on the bars. He didn’t experience nerves. Only jittery excitement, but it all changed the moment he touched the apparatus for the the first time. 

For those moments before and while Andrew performed, Kevin forgot everything else and watched with complete and utter focus. Kevin knew the moment Andrew took the vault deck that he wasn’t going to throw his usual bullshit Tsukaharas. He saw it in the intention behind Andrew’s motions, as he chalked his hands, rubbing his fingers together tentatively. He was focused, zoned in on the vault down the track. Kevin hadn’t seen that look on his face since right before he walked out of the arena at the World Championship. 

It made Kevin giddy, but he wouldn’t completely allow himself to believe it. This was exactly the type of mind game that Riko would play with him. Bring him so close to something that he could taste it, just barely touch it, only to snatch it away at the last possible second. 

The light blinked green, signaling Andrew’s start time, and he didn’t hesitate once. Kevin forgot how fast he could be when he wanted to, and it wasn’t until he was on the springboard that Kevin realized he was throwing his vault from the qualifier over three years ago. It was beautiful vault, and Kevin when so stunned when it was over he barely registered that it had even happened. Andrew ran down the track, with an effortless round-off backhandspring onto the vault table. As he pushed off and into the air, he twisted his body three times in the air—legs extended, body perfectly tight and composed—until he landed facing the vault deck. The moment he was in the air was silent, but the second his feet hit the mat, people in the stands went crazy. He didn’t falter once. His feet knew where to go, and they stuck to the mat until he chose to move them. It was all certainty, all self-assurance. His second run on the vault had him pulling a handspring double pike, and with the flawless execution, his placement spot was secured. 

Pride was a ridiculous thing to feel. For as long as Kevin had been training, the master had made it clear that pride was a feeling for idiots. You didn’t feel elation for completing something that you were supposed to do. That was the entire purpose, the entire reason why you stepped onto the stage in the first place. Pride implied surprise, and that was never guaranteed to get you anywhere. 

But there was some emotion, some nameless emotion that thrummed through Kevin. Starting with a flip in his stomach and rushing through his veins like tiny pinpricks until it fizzled out of his fingertips. Kevin’s fists clenched at his sides, and a small yes escaped his lips. But other than that, he looked composed. He felt the camera on him, and he acted accordingly. 

Andrew’s execution score flashed across the scoreboard. He was the first Fox to get a spot in the qualifying rounds. 


	12. Chapter 12

It had taken approximately thirteen minutes for Riko to corner Neil—get him alone and following after him to the locker rooms underneath the main arena.

Neil considered, just for a moment, how idiotic he could be, as Riko

“I think you know why we are here,” Riko said as he turned to face Neil.

“Enlighten me.” Riko backhanded Neil so hard he felt it in his teeth.

“What is it you want, Riko?” Neil answered with a laugh. He received a sharp jab to his rubber stomach.

“You know exactly what we expect you to do,” Riko said. His words were short, clipped in the frustration of having to explain this to Neil again.

“You’re delusional if you think Kevin will go back to the Ravens. I’ve already told you that before. You would think for someone who is supposedly as smart as you are, you would have remembered that.”

The punch to Neil’s chest was as numbing as it was predictable. The second right hook to his ribs had him down on his knees trying to find a proper breath.

Riko hardly knew how to negotiate without violence. Where the Butcher had used violence as a means of making it clear you were beyond negotiation, Riko ran to fists and knives as a form of negotiation. It made clear to Neil exactly how little power he actually held.

Riko leaned down, so he was just an inch or two above Neil’s eye level. “Bring him back, or I’ll leak everything.”

Jean and Riko walked out of the locker, leaving Neil on the floor. And it was several long minutes before Neil bothered to stand.

“Well, well, color me surprised,” Andrew said from some distance away.

Neil felt fear choke around his neck as he snapped to look up at him. For a long moment he couldn’t speak.

“Want to tell me why Riko is beating the shit out of you?” Andrew asked lazily.

Neil figured as much truth as possible would be the best way to get out of this.

“He wants me to find a way to get Kevin back on the Ravens.”

“And what is he holding over you?”

Neil hesitated a moment. “He knows who I really am.”

“And that would be?”

“I can’t tell you.”

Andrew moved closer, squatted down so he was just above Neil and grabbed his neck to hold him in place on the floor. He grabbed harshly at the hair at the nape of Neil’s neck and slammed his face into the ground.

“Wrong answer. If I were you I would start coming up with more convincing lines.”

“Or?” Neil challenged, spitting blood onto the ground.

“I hear it’s difficult to compete with a broken limb. But you can ask Kevin for advice on how he got over it once I’m done.”

“Riko is afraid of you,” Neil said. It had been bothering him since he’d watched their interaction earlier. “Why?”

“Maybe he knows the rumors are true. Or maybe he just had better self-preservation skills than you. I’ll ask you one time, why are you talking to him alone?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“You’ll just have to convince me later, then.”

“I don’t need to convince you of anything.”

“That, Neil Josten, is where you are wrong.” Andrew walked away, prepared to take Kevin’s side at the bench while the team waited for Kevin’s turn on parallel bars. “Clean yourself up. You’re on rotation after Kevin.

Neil washed himself quickly. It was stupid to be afraid ofAndrew, he was unpredictable and a lunatic, but even with his spurts of violence he knew he wasn’t half of what his father’s men had been. Riko was scary only because of the possibility of his identity getting out. Anything either one of them did that was physical hardly mattered. Neil hadn’t survived this much torture, his body didn’t bear so many scars, for him to be afraid of two teenaged psychopaths.

His outfit really did look a wreck. Between his auburn hair and blue eyes and green and black uniform against pale and bruised skin, he doubted it made for a good photo opportunity. And yet, as he climbed the stairs from the locker rooms and into the main arena, one deep breath cleared everything else away.

Neil could hardly believe he was here. The first selection show of the season. Two weeks before Regionals. This was the first show Kevin would be competing in since he broke his wrist in that ‘accident’ last summer.

The Foxes were hardly an indomitable team. Wildly imbalanced, and focused all on isolationist specialization. But it was the most fascinating mix of athletes any gym had to offer, and they were the subject of more scrutiny than usual considering the two male gymnasts they had recently gained. Despite this being the first showing with Kevin since his accident, and Andrew since he came out of retirement, neither one of them looked particularly nervous, despite the circumstances that had both of them clothed in orange.

The color, to Neil’s eyes, looked unnatural on Kevin as he took the stage towards the parallel bars.

Kevin looked practiced. He looked ready. His trademark determination, just barely visible between a face of indifference, coated his features. He raised a hand to the crowd, an easy and quick smile that sent the entire stadium screaming.

Neil could tell the moment he took his breath for p-bars, the faintest hint of trepidation. No one else really seemed to notice, but as Kevin mounted the bars, Neil felt a small part of his chest ice over.

Kevin rolled an L sit to a perfect handstand, pausing appropriately three seconds to demonstrate his respective upper body strength. He was poised, perfectly isolating the moves so he could move into a pirouette flawlessly. It was a mount Neil had seen a dozen times. Kevin had performed it all the way from nationals to worlds and in the AT&T cup earlier last year.

This was the first time he’d performed it since his wrist was broken. As he gave another half rotation, Neil swore he saw a twitch in Kevin’s bicep. He decided it was a trick of the arena lights.

He kept careful watch of Kevin’s arm—the subtly of each curve and flex. Kevin dipped further before throwing a giant swing to a solta, flinging his body into a double front toss before landing on his forearms.

There was a light clap from the crowd as Neil let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

Neil flexed his hands, stretching the fingers wide apart before rubbing the sweat from the palm of his hands. He was eager to have his hands around the bar. He felt the intense need spread across his chest and down his arms until it vibrated out of his fingertips.

Parallel bars, like many of men’s events, was all about the perfect control that came from the vertical position of a handstand. So the first moment Kevin’s back arched, Neil could sense the fear he’d been keeping at bay since he’d mounted.

Kevin readjusted himself quickly, holding the handstand for another two seconds before letting his legs fall through into another giant swing. As he came up for the handstand he readjusted his left hand so it connected with his right hand on the single bar, in what looked like an attempt at a glide kip to reconnect on both bars. In the moment that his hand slipped off the bars, Neil saw the entire trajectory of the rest of Kevin’s routine—executed to perfection. What he watched instead was Kevin fall to the side of the bars to the sound of the crowds gasps.

The arena was silent as he remounted.

Kevin held the handstand position for much longer than he was supposed to, and Neil held his breath for the rest of the routine as Kevin toned down his tricks, cutting his difficulty in a desperate attempt to regain control of his body. His rotations were beautiful and executed with predominantly his uninjured hand.

His routine usually called for a double front as a dismount, but Kevin only rotated once before hitting the floor. He took a single step out before raising his arms and facing the crowd.

The camera stuck to his face, and it didn’t take someone who had watched Kevin perform for their entire life to see that he was in an instant state of torment.

Sportscasters wouldn’t be able to get enough of this. Neil only barely heard their commentary from announcers off the side of the judge's table as he watched Kevin take his place with the rest of the Foxes. His teammates didn’t bother to comfort him. Reassurances and comforting pats were received for more well-put together teams that cared about things like sportsmanship and team communication. Andrew stood as Kevin took a seat turning towards him and leaning in to get in his face. The move blocked Kevin from nearly every angle the camera tried to get at him.

“Not an ideal first performance following Kevin Day’s astonishing injury at the end of last season. And his former team has to be considering what could have been as they watched that performance.”

“I know I certainly am, Jim.”

It was then that Neil craned his neck to look for a set of red and black uniforms. The rest of the Ravens seemed like they could quite honestly care less about Kevin’s mediocre performance. But Riko was watching Kevin closely, and he looked furious.

When Kevin’s score flashed across the screen, Neil had to turn his eyes away from the screen.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. The whole purpose of watching Kevin so closely all these years was for Neil to remember that one of them deserved to make it.

He watched the rest of the routines on parallel bars in a daze, watching as routine after routine scored higher than Kevin’s. When Riko took the stage, Neil felt nauseous. As usual, Riko took first place.

It was only one meet. And the first of the season at that. But even as Neil continued to tell himself that over and over again, it felt like an utter defeat. 


	13. Chapter 13

If p-bars were bad, Kevin’s horizontal bar routine was worse. Kevin went from shaky to shaking in the span of two hours. 

“We’re leaving,” Andrew said as soon as the meet was over, dragging Kevin up from where he sat on a bench with a tight grip on his bicep. 

“Neil,” Kevin muttered. 

“He’ll get a ride back with the others,” Andrew growled. 

Andrew kept his grip secure until he threw Kevin into the back seat of his car, sliding in behind him. As he slammed the door shut he fished a small bottle of vodka from his duffle bag and tossed it at Kevin. 

Kevin unscrewed the cap and sent the contents rushing down his throat. 

Andrew didn’t say anything, didn’t speak once on the drive back. He made Nicky drive and only the stagnated conversation between him and Aaron filled the car. 

When they arrived at VGA, Andrew leaned out of the car and dumped the contents of his stomach onto the concrete. Without closing the door, he pried the bottle of vodka from Kevin’s hands. 

“Gym,” Kevin mumbled. 

“You’re obsessive.” 

“Then I’ll walk by myself.” Kevin looked him square in the eye. “Don’t waste my time any more than you usually do.” 

“Listen to him,” Andrew said. 

“This is supremely awkward,” Nicky decided after another moment of silent driving. “Maybe we should call it a night, hey guys?” 

“Don’t bother,” Aaron said. 

Nicky made eye contact with Andrew in the back of the car, but otherwise managed to keep his mouth shut for the short drive. 

“Get out, junkie,” Andrew said as they pulled up to the gym. 

Kevin remained silent as he moved up the path and through the gym doors. Andrew was curious, he wouldn’t deny it.

He must’ve been drunk. There was no way a person could have drank that much and remain sober. But Kevin headed right for the parallel bars anyway, hopping up and swinging himself over. 

Three times. He repeated the part of his routine he’d botched three times in perfect succession before dismounting. 

“Is your plan to run yourself ragged in a drunken stupor?” 

“Not entertaining enough for you?” Kevin asked bitterly, a sneer pulling his lips thin. 

“Just as predictable as I always expected you to be.” 

“Predictable,” Kevin laughed. “What a fucking embarrassment today was.” 

Andrew remained silent, pivoting himself back and forth on the mat. 

“The point of having you and Josten on the team was to light a fire under everyone else’s ass. And none of the Foxes even care. That’s why you, Josten, and Boyd were the only ones to place today.” 

“You’re not masquerading as the assistant coach anymore. It’s not your job to care how the rest of the team places.”

“This team’s success is 100% my job.” 

“You’re the only one who feels that way.” 

“Not the only one,” Kevin muttered. 

Andrew looked up at the ceiling, rolling out his neck before jogging down the vault track. 

“This isn’t a team sport,” Andrew said lazily while bouncing himself onto the vault. He sat there calmly, barely moving, so he looked almost like a statue. It made Kevin want to knock him off and shove something other than apathy into him. “Their success only serves to get in your way.” 

“It’s about surrounding ourselves with the best people,” Kevin continued stubbornly. “No one is going to push them to work harder if they all think they have a spot to fall back on.” 

Andrew raised a lazy eyebrow, pretended to survey the gym, before turning his attention back to Kevin. He didn’t say anything, but his unspoken question was clear. You know where we are right? 

“Everyone else makes enough excuses for the Foxes. No one expects anything from them because of the reputation Wymack has built around this place. They shouldn’t be using those same excuses for themselves.” 

“Ourselves.” Andrew pointed his toes, forcing his body into a flawless handstand on the vault. He lifted one arm, bringing it flat against his side, before adjusting onto his other hand. “And it’s not Wymack’s reputation.” 

“I know that,” Kevin said, letting out a frustrated sigh. It wasn’t Wymack’s decision to create a gym for second chances that crippled the Foxes. The fact that before this no one had ever had someone to tell them they were worth something, and that most of the world believed it just by looking at them, kept expectations low and shortcomings at the top of the list. “I also know that we aren't going to change our minds about ourselves if we keep settling.” 

“You can’t settle either then.” 

“It’s not in my nature to settle.” 

Andrew stood on the vault, raised his arms up in completely mockery of the invisible audience before him before throwing an Arabian to land squarely back on the vault track. 

“I’d say it’s been programmed to be about all you can do.” 

Kevin ignored the jab. “Let’s train,” Kevin said a little desperately. “Run you’re Yurchenko again.”

“You’re drunk,” Andrew dismissed, though he did walk himself back up the track. “Find me someone to motivate me. Maybe I’ll even throw a three and a half twist.” 

Andrew watched the disappointment etch into Kevin’s face when he threw a Tsukahara and couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t understand it, really couldn’t understand how Kevin could put so much of himself into something as stupid as this sport and then intentionally cut himself short from being the best. He didn’t understand how he kept letting Riko get to him. 

And then there was Neil, who performed as an act of vengeance, as an act of retaliation. He was the only one close to Andrew’s score on vault today. He’d thrown every trick he had, no matter how sloppy or mismanaged, fueled by the rage of Riko, and Kevin, and probably to some small manner Andrew himself. 

Neil, who was full of lies and manipulation, and all of the things Andrew couldn’t stand about human interaction, wrapped in the packaging of socially inept and obliviousness. He still hadn’t considered exactly how to make Neil Josten sing his truths. 

Andrew allowed, just for the briefest of moments, for attraction to build as he looked at Kevin and thought about Neil. Not a long time, not enough for it to become muddled by past memories. But just enough for it to spark so he could crush it out of his system. He repeated the process twice more, and then took a steadying breath before distracting himself with thoughts of something else. 


	14. Chapter 14

Living with Andrew was easier than Kevin anticipated. On one hand, he was infuriating, with his refusal to follow regimented meal plans and his insistence on cigarettes and sugar. On the other, he was distracting, with his vibrating energy and his constant antagonism and his ridiculous body. 

Kevin was lounging on the coach in their common space, listening to two sports commentators on TV rip into a floor routine at full volume. 

“Turn that shit off,” Andrew said from the beanbag chair on the ground next to the couch. 

Kevin was watching highlights from the Trojans at their selections showing. The screen filled with Jeremy Knox’s grin, just slightly upturned, eyes sparkling as he talked about his hopes for the new season. Kevin felt an intense rush through his abdomen as his stomach flipped at Jeremy’s bright expression. 

At his face, Kevin’s eyes twitched over to Andrew, who was already grinning. 

“There’s the real reason you’re watching. How predictable.” 

“Regionals will be soon,” Kevin said without looking away from the screen. 

Andrew rolled his eyes and took a cigarette from his pocket. 

“Will you stop ruining your lungs?” Kevin asked as Andrew lit it. 

“Imminent death is much too satisfying to stop for something as trivial as lungs.” 

Kevin’s distaste was apparent on his face, but he also knew Andrew was just being difficult on purpose. “I hate when you’re like this.” 

“They call that a mutual feeling,” Andrew said as he blew the smoke into Kevin’s face. 

It effectively distracted Kevin from the TV. Sometimes Andrew succeeded in pulling Kevin completely from his own thoughts.

“Don’t do that.” Kevin heard his own words played back to him. They didn’t sound very convincing. 

“Or?” Andrew taunted. 

“Or, I’ll have to do something about it.” 

At this Andrew’s grin grew. “Is that a threat for the one and only Kevin Day?” Andrew tutted his tongue. “Shame that there’s no backbone to back it up.” 

“We are going to Columbia,” Andrew announced after another moment. It was loud enough that the rest of the suite could hear. Nicky let out a triumphant whoop! before rushing into the room.

“What’s in Columbia?” Kevin asked. 

“We used to be,” Nicky chirped. “We still have our house there and there’s a nightclub we used to work for. It’ll be fun.” 

“You’re coming,” Andrew said. 

“Obviously,” Kevin retorted. 

“Snappier than usual, aren’t we? Stow the attitude, you’re no fun when you’re moody.” 

“Fun isn’t really a word I’d use for Kevin,” Nicky said thoughtfully. “Though I’m sure he thinks putting us through those drills are fun.” Nicky gasped excitedly. “I always figured you for a sadist, Day but now there’s actual proof.” 

“It’s not sadism to make you guys do your training. That’s what you’re here for.” 

“That’s exactly what a sadist would say,” Aaron drawled as he padded across the room for a glass of water. 

“That’s alright, Kevin. You can try some of your moves out on me during some alone time,” Nicky said with a wink. 

“Can it, Nicky. You won’t get another warning,” Andrew snapped quickly. 

Nicky rolled his eyes. “Always biting my moment. Does it at least taste good?” 

Andrew ignored him. 

“Anyway,” Nicky continued. “I know you know how to dress, Kevin. I’ve seen the magazines. So ditch the sports shorts when we go, yeah?” 

“When do we leave?” 

“Hmmm...” Nicky said thoughtfully. “Why not now?” 

Andrew grinned. 

“Get changed, you fuckers. We’re leaving in ten minutes!” He left the room singing to himself. 

They get to the nightclub three hours later, after grabbing food at a diner just down the street and the obnoxious drive down to Columbia. Despite Nicky’s instance that they leave as soon as possible, they hadn’t really left campus until 7:30. 

Andrew threw up in the parking lot, but seemed fine after his insane sundae, and despite having nothing but greasy food. The boys gorged themselves in preparation for a night out, and when Kevin returned from the bathroom everyone seemed considerably more awake.

As they entered the club, Nicky and Aaron immediately beelined towards the back, close enough to the bar where they could see when it gets empty, but far enough away that it was quite clear to passerby that they had zero interest in socializing with anyone outside of their group. The table was small, covered in empty glasses, and a little lopsided, but their were enough chairs for the four of them. Nicky motioned for Kevin to sit while he quickly piled up the glasses and get rid of them. 

Eden’s Twilight was the perfect place to not be recognized. Kevin realized this in approximately three minutes of winding through the crowd of people. Pitch dark, with lights focused solely on the dance floor. Everyone else was essentially left in darkness. The dim hues of blue and pink and green reflected off the tables and into the eyes of Andrew as he leaned over towards Kevin. 

“Follow me.” 

Kevin stood obediently, mouth suddenly feeling particularly dry, and weaved through the small river of people in front of the bar. Andrew swam against the current, and for the most part, people got the fuck out of his way. By the time Kevin joined him, the bartender was already mixing a set of drinks. 

“I figured you wouldn’t shy away from shots. Vodka, if I remember correctly?” 

It seemed like a perfectly innocuous question, but Kevin knew better. Andrew had commented on his drinking before, at Nationals three years ago. 

_“You won’t find your spine at the bottom of the bottle, no matter how fast you drink it,” he’d taunted._

Kevin hadn’t had anything to say then, unused to the cutting nature of Andrew’s words. It was the first time someone outside of Riko and the Master had ever not been terrified to criticize him. 

Looking at Andrew’s smile in the club though was different. This was the Andrew that had made a deal with him. An Andrew who was on his side. 

“Vodka is fine,” Kevin said.

The bartended looked up as Kevin spoke, and made a quick face at Andrew that Kevin couldn’t quite decipher. 

“Another gymnast, Andrew?” 

“Roland, you’ll wound his fragile ego. This is _the_ Kevin Day. Five time World Champion and three time silver medalist.” 

“You don’t say,” Roland said, looking mildly impressed. He set two shots on the counter of the bar and poured a generous amount of liquor in each. “I remember your face.” 

“That’s what they call excellent marketing,” Andrew said sagely as he reached for the shots. 

He set one in front of Kevin and didn’t bother to wait for Kevin to lift it up to his lips before he was knocking back his own. 

“No more gymnastics talk,” Andrew ordered as Roland slid the tray across the bar. “From either of you.” 

“No promises,” Kevin muttered before taking his shot. 

Roland barked out a laugh. At the look Andrew sent his way he held his hands up in front of him. 

“I know better than to ignore orders from you,” Roland said, a slight gleam in his eye and a small smirk across his lips. He reached for another pair of shot glasses and set it empty on the bar. Andrew nodded, and Roland reached for the bottle of vodka once more.

Kevin slid his eyes from Roland’s face to Andrew’s. Andrew was looking away, into the crowd as he waited for Roland to finish pouring the final shot. The moment the alcohol reached the brim of the shot glass, Andrew knocked in back. He took the tray and sunk seamlessly into the crowd, leaving Kevin scrambling to finish his drink and follow. 

The moment the tray of drinks was set on the table, Nicky and Aaron reached for the alcohol, and Kevin wasn’t far behind. Andrew waited, holding his shot to his lips before slowly and smoothly knocking it back. As Nicky and Aaron took the last of four successive shots, they stood, giving a little nod as they made their way over to the dance floor. 

There were a few minutes of silence. Andrew had taken to sipping on a glass of whiskey, silently observing the crowd. 

It wasn’t awkward, necessarily. Kevin wasn’t used to seeing Andrew so calm, his mind uncluttered from the drugs. It was not an unwelcome change. 

Nicky chattered along, making commentary on the people around them as they sat observing the crowd. 

Andrew had said no more gymnastics talk, and Kevin wasn’t in the mood anyway to go down that particular road with Andrew. There was one thing that kept plaguing his mind—the way Roland had looked when he’d spoken to Andrew. After another round of drinks, he decided to bring it up.

“He seemed into you.”

Andrew, unimpressed to hear Kevin speak, replied in a dull monotone. 

“So very specific of you, Day.”

He was looking out into the crowd, keeping what seemed to be a careful eye on the area where Nicky and Aaron had disappeared. Kevin couldn’t see anything of note in Andrew’s line of vision, but Andrew was fixated and by the look on his face, bored of conversing with Kevin. 

“The bartender. He seemed like he wanted you to fuck him.” 

Andrew’s smile was slow as he stared at Kevin, keeping direct eye contact as he spoke. 

“And if he did?” 

Kevin felt his eyebrows furrow as he tried to consider the implication of Andrew’s words. His mind was slow, trying to piece together meaning as it attempted to react. 

He was drunk. 

“You’re gay.” 

Definitely drunk. 

Andrew brought his drink to his lips, speaking around the rim of the glass. “And who says you’re just a dumb jock?” 

“I’m right, aren’t I?"

“Why does it concern you?” 

“Because.” The alcohol made it difficult for his tongue to work properly. 

“Can’t deny that logic.” When Kevin opened his mouth again to speak, Andrew stopped him. “Hush, Day. We’re in public. No need to have a gay crisis right in the middle of the bar. It won’t impress me.” 

“You know,” Kevin said, his voice hollowed out. 

Andrew dragged his eyes from his drink to look Kevin up and down once. 

“Of course I know. It’s been obvious since nationals.” 

“Since _nationals?_ ” Kevin swallowed. 

“Jeremy Knox,” was all Andrew said. 

Kevin’s stomach flipped. He knew that not everyone was as observant as Andrew, but he was careful about who he stared at and for how long. The fact that he was weak for Jeremey Knox was a subtly only Riko should have been able to pick up on, and even he didn’t know. 

“So, you know.” Kevin shrugged and took another shot. “What are you going to do about it?” 

He turned to him with a raised eyebrow, expecting—Well he wasn’t quite sure what he had been expecting to find. But Andrew sat there, unmoving, eyes trained on Kevin. 

He had a look on his face like he wanted to fuck with Kevin, so when he leaned forward a bit and spoke, Kevin had to play the words over in his brain twice to register them. 

“I have no interest in junkies. Sports-obsessed or otherwise.” 

“That seems a little discriminatory of you.” 

“Guess I have high standards.” 

Kevin liked this, the exchange of clever one-liners back and forth. Everything with gymnastics had always been a challenge, and that’s where the love of the sport had always come from. Why should flirting be any different? 

He knew it when he saw it—or at the very least, he’d assumed. He wouldn’t hope, couldn’t dare do that, but there was a part of him a while ago that figured Andrew was attracted to other men. 

It wasn’t anything he did. And it wasn’t as though Kevin had come to this conclusion on his own. It was Riko, in fact, who first planted the idea in Kevin’s mind when they had started training for the World’s team. It had been derisive, when Riko had said it, but all it did was pique Kevin’s interest. 

Now sitting across from him, Kevin had certainty on his side. Kevin didn’t bother with false bouts of modesty. He knew he was attractive, and he knew Andrew was probably at least physically attracted to him. That was enough. That could be enough. 

“So,” Kevin started. 

“Stop right there, Day, before you embarrass yourself.” Andrew placed another shot in front of him on the table. “Now would be a good time to ignore the feelings that are ruminating in that gymnastics driven mind.” 

It could wait. He’d spent the last three weeks watching the guy fling his body this way or that for six hours a day and he’d managed to keep himself together. 

Kevin could wait. He could be patient. It wasn’t an impossibility. 

He was content to wait out the rest of the week, in fact. This is what he told himself as he continued drinking. The words he repeated back to himself as they drove back to the Columbia house, as he fell asleep. 

And in the morning, with a clear head he decided he could definitely be patient.


	15. Chapter 15

Neil Josten wasn’t nearly as unpracticed as he claimed to be. Andrew was sure Kevin could spot it as well. It was subtle things, which was surprising from the spectacle that was Neil. The control in his handstands, his speed towards the vault, his efficiency on floor. 

He wasn’t afraid—not of heights, and not of injury. The fear in his eyes was reserved for something else entirely. He looked like he had never been allowed to live outside of the gym. Andrew eyed Kevin carefully, watching him watch the Josten boy. He saw the lust there, the pure heat emanating off Kevin at this kid’s potential. It was that exact look that had gotten Andrew to this point. He knew firsthand how jolting it was. 

But Neil never noticed. He held Kevin’s eyes and demanded feedback, demanded for Kevin to give him everything he had. It wasn’t in Kevin’s nature to hesitate under these circumstances. 

Kevin probably hadn’t ever been known for mincing words. He ripped into Neil’s technique, sent him back to the horizontal bars until he was convinced Neil could dismount with perfect form before he’d even let him pull any tricks. 

And Neil went back each time, frustrated that he wasn’t performing the way Kevin had impossibly demanded after thirty minutes of practice. 

Junkie. That’s what he was, Andrew decided. A junkie so desperate for the mat he was willing to eat it over and over again if that’s what it took. 

But there was more to Josten than his obsession with the sport. Andrew watched careful at the way Neil looked at Kevin, the way he glued himself to his side whenever the opportunity presented itself. 

The conversation he’d overheard between Riko and Josten had been replaying in his mind everyday since. Josten wasn’t the nobody he pretended to be, and whatever Riko had on him was big enough for Neil to potentially play on Riko’s side. 

So, when Kevin begged the first three nights to allow Neil to practice with him at night, Andrew ignored him. 

“He needs the extra training to make up for his lack of experience.” 

He must have repeated it about a dozen times, and each time, Andrew ignored him. Kevin was obsessed but he wasn’t defiant. Until Andrew said yes, he wouldn’t attempt to bring Neil around. 

Watching Neil in the gym at the end of the week was the same as watching him in the beginning—same obsession in his eyes, same recklessness with his body. 

Kevin had to rip into Neil to get him to even leave the gym when practice was over on Friday. 

“You’re of no use to us if you blow a knee before you even compete. Stretch. We’re done for the day,” Kevin reiterated. 

Neil rolled himself up from where we was laying sprawled out on the floor and bounced up to join the rest of the team in stretching. He put just as much effort into stretching as he did every other training exercise. 

Dan led them through stretching, Neil pushing his body as far as he could each time. 

He was flexible, another plus in any gymnast’s tally. Andrew watched him lazily. 

Though it seemed Kevin was the only person Neil cared about receiving feedback from, he was surprisingly neutral towards the other Foxes. He held immense, inexplicable reverence for Wilds. 

He was still a Fox though, disagreeable by his very nature, and he bristled visibly around Seth and Allison. 

There was hardly anyone he separated himself more from than Renee. It took her thirty seconds of meeting Neil to slide her eyes knowingly at Andrew, and she’d spent everyday since surveying him. 

As the team got up from stretching, Renee made her way next to Andrew. 

“Care for a cool down lap around the gym?” she asked politely, all small smiles and warm eyes. 

Andrew knew better. He gazed lazily over the rest of the team. Allison and Seth were already nearly out the door, and Matt and Dan were busy peppering Neil with questions about his skills. Kevin was, predictably, sticking near Nicky and Aaron, anxious to go home and shower and watch footage from the UCLA meet. 

Andrew bounced up and headed wordlessly to the perimeter, waiting for Renee to start. 

“So, you’ve been observing since he got here. Is he going to be a problem?” 

It wasn’t that Renee had any interest in maintaining her former lifestyle, this much Andrew knew, even if he couldn’t explain it. But any threat to the team was a threat to people she cared about, and a threat to the new lifestyle she had apparently worked so hard to cultivate. She didn’t want to be in a position where she had to use what she had learned. Even if Andrew didn’t understand her fixation on being a ‘good person’ he could understand her motivation for inquiring into the newest recruit. 

“A little harsh coming from Saint Walker. Don’t you think?” 

Renee didn’t bite the bait. 

“He has the same look in his eyes.” 

Andrew didn’t bother denying it. “I saw.” 

“Will you be taking him to Columbia?” 

Andrew sighed loudly, dramatically. “So many questions today.” 

“Matt’s taken a liking to him,” Renee commented quietly as she watched Neil surreptitiously. They were about half way around the gym. “Dan seems like she could be fond quick.” 

“I get it Walker, you’ve got your own investments to protect.” 

Renee ignored the word choice, choosing not to fight him on it. She must be feeling particularly adamant about this. 

“You know I don’t agree with your methods.” 

“But,” Andrew said knowingly. 

“But if he is like us…” She let the rest of her sentence hang in the air for a second before deciding something. “I’m willing to wait it out and trust him.”

“Just like the good Christian Saint that you are.” 

Renee didn’t bother saying anything else as they continued jogging. 

“Nicky,” Andrew called over once they had arrived back where the rest of the team was cooling down. 

Nicky’s head snapped up, smiling broadly before jogging over. 

“Hey, Renee.” He gave a small nod of his head. “Andrew?” 

“Invite Josten to Columbia tonight.”

“Tonight?” Nicky asked, clearly surprised. Renee went a little rigid next to him. Clearly, she hadn’t expected something to happen quite so quickly. 

Andrew didn’t bother repeating himself. “And get him out of those awful fucking clothes.” 


	16. Chapter 16

Andrew was exactly where Kevin expected to find him when he woke up the next morning, pouring pounds of sugar into his coffee at the kitchen counter. 

It had hardly been an eventful night. Andrew had made it clear he wanted Kevin to be scarce throughout the evening. Get him there and get him comfortable, that was the only indication Kevin had received into Andrew’s plans for the night. Kevin had been far too trashed way too quickly to understand why they had left as early as they did. All he could remember was shoving an unconscious Josten into Andrew’s car. 

“You should have waited to break him in,” Kevin said without any greeting. Andrew didn’t turn from his coffee. 

“The point of my promise to you wasn’t to ask permission in moments when there is a threat.” 

“Neil is hardly a threat.” 

“That’s something for me to decide.”

“No. Your promise to me doesn't mean alienating potential talent. It was to keep me from going back to the Nest.” 

“He’s obsessed with you.” 

“You’re paranoid.” 

“And you’re naive.” He looked at Kevin over his shoulder, holding his eyes. “I was under the impression you wanted my protection. Begged for it, actually.” 

“Don’t be insolent, Andrew. It’s fucking unbecoming.” 

“Bored now,” Andrew announced as he turned back to his coffee. 

“What are you going to do with him?” 

“Get the truth,” Andrew said simply.

“Drugging him didn’t do that?” It sounded accusatory, but Andrew knew better. Kevin hadn’t been forthcoming about his past, but it didn’t take a genius to connect a few dots. 

“He’s crafty, I’ll give him that. Paid the busboy to knock him out.” 

“You’re going to try again,” Kevin said in disbelief. “He’s going to fucking leave. What good will we be if we don’t get someone else to qualify from the Foxes?” 

“You think he has nothing to hide. I want him to prove it.” 

“Of course he has something to hide. But it doesn’t have anything to do with me.” 

Andrew started laughing. “You really believe that, don’t you?” 

“It isn’t funny. And he better be in good enough condition to train.” 

“Nothing ibuprofen and gatorade won’t fix,” Andrew said with a wave of his hand. 

“He’s missing,” Nicky shouted down the stairs, interrupting Kevin before he could retort. His footsteps followed shortly after, until he was in front of Kevin and Andrew in the kitchen. “Neil is missing.” 

Kevin could tell almost immediately that Andrew was intrigued by this new development in Neil’s behavior. Kevin couldn’t say the same. It confirmed a fear he had and an inkling Andrew wasn’t vocalizing; Neil was ready and willing to flee if he was backed into a corner. 

It meant he would go, disappear without a trace, if he was pushed too hard. Kevin wasn’t sure how he might react to that if it were to happen. He was pumping nearly all his free energy into developing the kid—almost as concerned with Neil’s performance as he was his own. Neil offered him stability, predictability, that he could never hope to have with Andrew. At the Nest, pushing his other teammates was one of the only ways to stay sane. Now, without the structures he’d known his whole life, and with Andrew’s apathy and refusal to care, Neil was the only one who sought and followed Kevin’s mentoring. With everything that had happened in the last few months, he needed him around. 

Andrew’s phone rang, and he picked it up with an amused yet resigned, “what?” 

Kevin could hear Matt yelling through the phone. Though it was hard to make out his words, the expletives were clear. 

Andrew sighed dramatically. “Quite the accusatory tone.” 

Kevin heard Matt’s f _uck you_ through the muffled phone, followed by more yelling. 

“Tell your captain that Neil is perfectly capable of deciding for himself.” 

Whatever Matt said back had Andrew smiling. 

“Bye now.” 

He hung up without allowing Matt another word. 

“Neil’s called for help apparently.” 

“Where is he?” 

“Pay phone, from what Boyd was saying.” 

“Idiot.” 

“This isn’t a bout of stupidity, though you won’t get any argument on his idiocy under normal circumstances.” 

“Not this again.” 

Andrew started laughing. “Your self preservation skills are astounding, Day. Honestly, it’s a wonder you’ve survived as long as you have.” 

“Neil is not a threat just because he pissed you off with his loud mouth.” 

“Interesting. You’re willful ignorance knows no bounds.” 

“I’m not in the mood Andrew,” Kevin started. 

“He looks at you like you’ve hung the moon.” 

“He looks at you like that too, when you try.” 

“This is about more than your ridiculous obsession with an idiotic sport.” 

He looked towards the door before digging in his pocket for a cigarette. 

“Get the doppelgänger and meet me in the car.” 

“Deflecting yet again,” Kevin muttered as he walked off. 

“Good psychosis work, Dr. Day,” Andrew yelled over his shoulder. 


	17. Chapter 17

He’d spent the walk back deciding exactly what to tell Andrew—the exact ways to get his story as straight as it could be. 

He decided somewhere between Henrietta and interstate 207 that some truth would need to be involved. And as much as that terrified Neil, there was some part of him buried very deep down that was feverish.

Andrew had given him more than he had probably realized last night. His accusation with the binder of Kevin clippings had revealed he probably didn’t realize what was lying underneath the subterfuge of what seemed to be a slightly psychotic fanaticism. From Andrew’s tone, that clearly had not helped make a case for Neil. But it was clear why he saw Neil as a threat. He genuinely thought that Neil was a mole for Riko. 

Ultimately, Andrew would either choose to believe him or he wouldn’t. There wasn’t much Neil could do to predict his behavior. The only real hope he had was that Andrew wouldn’t gut him on the spot. 

When he opened the door to his room in the cabin to find Andrew already waiting for him, he was ready to unleash the story he’d pieced together. What surprised him was that Kevin was there as well. 

Andrew clapped slowly. “Quite the performance. I especially enjoyed the bit where you walked off into the sunrise. Very dramatic.” 

“Fuck you,” Neil spat. 

“You’re an idiot,” Kevin announced. “If you weren’t going to let us drive you home, you should have called Wymack. Or one of the others to pick you up. Stretch before you lose what limited value you offer our team.” 

“Whoa, Kevin. Slow down a bit will you. We don’t even know if he’s staying past this conversation.” Andrew asked, squinting as he got in Neil’s face. 

Neil decided it was probably best to maintain some control over the conversation. 

“We need a minute,” Neil said as he turned to Kevin. “Can you wait outside?” 

“Go on, Kevin,” Andrew said, his gaze hungry as he kept his eyes trained on Neil. “Go wait outside.” 

“Like fucking hell,” Kevin said. He pointed at Neil and spoke in quick, furious French. “Anything you have to say to him, you can say to me.” 

“You can’t honestly think that the questions he’s asking make any sense,” Neil answered back in French. 

“In a language I can understand,” Andrew said, his fingers playing at the fraying edges of his long sleeved shirt. It was a twitch Neil recognized. 

That really only left one option. From conversations he’d heard Nicky, Aaron, and Andrew have it was a safe bet Kevin did not understand German. It was a card he hadn’t wanted to play so early on, but there weren’t really any other options. He couldn’t be sure what Andrew would decide following this conversation, but he was certain he didn’t want an audience present to get Andrew riled up. This was a half-truth best told in private. 

“What the hell was that last night?” Neil asked in vicious German as he turned his full attention on Andrew. “Drugging me within an inch of my life, and for what? What the fuck do you want from me?” 

Kevin looked stunned, hurt that Neil would intentionally keep him out of this conversation, but Neil was paying closer attention to Andrew’s face. It twisted strangely, all of the irritation and impatience with Neil wiped away instantly. He wasn’t aware anyone could surprise Andrew. 

“I hate surprises.” His voice was deceptively calm. 

“Fuck yourself.” 

“Backed in a corner and even still, that smart mouth of yours won’t quit. I’m still waiting for my answer.” 

“And I gave it to you. I’m not a fucking mole.” 

“Then set it straight for me.” 

“Why should I bother?” 

“If you don’t, I will. And I’ll take my answers wherever I can find them.” 

“You think you can find them?” He shouldn’t be goading Andrew, really he was playing a dangerous game inviting him to prod into Neil’s thinly veiled cover. But god did he want to see his smirk wiped clean one more time. 

“I’ll start with your parents.” 

“Go for it. You won’t find them.” 

“Did you kill them?” 

For a moment, Neil could only stare. It was such an absurd question, such a ridiculous leap that he allowed himself to feel stunned by it. In watching the way Andrew’s eyes raked over his body, assessing each small twitch, he remembered exactly who he was speaking with. “Did you kill yours?” 

“I don’t have parents.” 

It was only barely a lie. The twins didn’t know their biological father, and Andrew had spent the first ten years of his life in the foster system. It was after another two in juvie and a year in the National’s circuit that his mother allowed him to live with her and Aaron. Seven months later, when the twins were fourteen, she died in a car accident along with one of the trainers at the gym. It had apparently been a tragedy that the gym had to sustain, loosing such a lauded trainer and the owner’s sister in one fell swoop. Coincidentally, a few months later Andrew was being carted off to the Nationals for the fifth time, this time with Aaron and Nicky in toe, representing his Uncle’s gym. 

Neil used the beat of silence to gather what limited courage he had. He trusted his story. It was all about the delivery of it now. 

“I didn’t kill my parents.” The story had been crafted without Kevin in mind. Speaking in German didn’t stop names from being recognizable. “A certain Raven’s family took care of that.” 

He flicked his eyes cooly to Kevin, hoping Andrew would pick it up and not sell him out. 

Andrew’s eyes followed Neil’s to Kevin, eyebrow raised. Neil figured it best to continue on before allowing Andrew the space for commentary. The rest of his story flowed a little easier, despite the fear holding a fierce grip around his throat. 

“My father worked for some associates of the family. He wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things, a gopher who ended up skimming payments meant for the Boss. But he knew a lot of names and he knew how to move what they needed him to. He sometimes worked out of Edgar Allan, which is how I met one and two.” It was a pain speaking vaguely, so Kevin wouldn’t recognize what they were saying. But it didn’t take a genius to piece together the tattoos on Riko and Kevin’s faces or to read around the vagueness in Neil’s speech. He couldn’t chance Kevin interrupting, or worse of all recognizing what Neil was saying until he’d gotten through the whole story. “When they found out, they killed both my parents on the spot. I took what he stole and ran. I’ve been running ever since.” 

“And this one?” Andrew’s head moved imperceptibly towards Kevin. 

“I’m lucky he didn’t recognize me, to be honest. It’s been a long time since I left. But seeing him…” Neil arranged his face very carefully. “It helps me remember my parents. I know what will happen if the family ever recognizes me, but I can’t help be close to him. He’s the last piece I have of my real life. Like I said, I’m lucky he hasn’t remembered me. Though, why would he?” 

“Lucky,” Andrew repeated. He wasn’t smiling any more. Whatever he was thinking was impossible for Neil to know, but the amusement laden in his eyes was enough for Neil to not get hung up on it. “Why come here then?” 

Neil raised an eyebrow and tried his best to sound exhausted. It didn’t take much effort. “You want me to say that I’m jealous of him? I am. He knows what it is to hate every day of his life, but he was supposed to make it. He’s supposed to have everything. And he comes to me, asking for…” Neil let his words trail off. “How was I supposed to say no to that? I’m nothing. I have nothing, and I’ll always _be_ nothing. But he wants me? Thinks he can use me? And I come here and it’s…” Neil shook his head, hoping his face conveyed some emotion that was tangible for his story to feel believable. 

Andrew walked closer, so close that Neil could feel the heat emanating off of him. He stared him straight in the eye, an unreadable expression on his face. He wasn’t surprised, or judgmental even, despite what a ridiculous tale Neil had concocted. He’d expected a few different reactions from Andrew, but this hadn’t been one of them. 

“And Riko?” 

The question threw him off. He hadn’t anticipated it, and he was stunned by his own stupidity in not considering it. The truth, unfortunately, tucked rather nicely into the story he had crafted for himself. It was the matter of prying it out of himself that had Neil hesitating. 

“After I mouthed off, he found out who I was.” He had to force the words out of his mouth, and the effort of doing so was making him nauseous. “Made the connection with my parents and his family.”

Andrew continued staring at him, expectant. This part, apparently was a harder sell. Andrew was quiet for such a long moment, Neil was sure he’d fucked up. 

“He thinks he can use the truth to get me to bring Kevin back.” 

It was a deduction Andrew had already probably made. Neil figured he had nothing to lose in telling the truth, and everything to gain in making the story more believable to Andrew. 

“Can he?” 

“No,” Neil answered. It was fierce and defiant in its own way. He had already gone through the motions of accepting his own death over Kevin’s. Kevin had always been hope. He’d always been the one who deserved, out of the two of them, to shed the shackles he’d been locked into and carve out his own path. That didn’t change, even now. 

“Let me stay,” Neil said after another long moment of silence.

Andrew tutted his tongue, expression wiped clean of everything save indifference. 

“Keep it if you want to. It won’t last. There’s no reason I have to stand in your way.” He examined Neil’s face a bit closer, drawing his body in until his hand cupped harshly at the back of Neil’s neck. “You will not get in the way of anyone under my protection. Understand?” 

Neil nodded, and Andrew held on for a minute longer than was strictly necessary. 

“Then stay.” 

That was the extent of Andrew’s response. He took Neil’s story without blinking, and without asking for more than he needed to clarify, and that was his simple response—as though the situation could be solved in two quick words. 

Neil spluttered as relief washed through him. “Stay?” 

“You’re planning to stay through qualifiers, right? Make it as far as you can without garnering too much attention. Then you’ll fade away, the promising amateur that never quite made it. That’s your plan, isn't it?” 

Neil nodded. 

“Then stay. Play your pathetic fairytale out as long as you need to. But the clock is ticking, Cinderella. Tick-tock.” He made two clicking noises with his tongue as he moved next to Neil facing the door. He was close enough that their shoulders brushed. “You’ll have to deal with midnight before you lose your chariot.” 

He walked towards the door before calling back to Kevin that they were leaving. 

“What did you tell him?” Kevin asked desperately in French. 

“Not everything,” Neil said quickly. 

“Now, Kevin,” Andrew snapped. 

“You should have,” Kevin said before walking out of the room. 

As the door closed behind them, the only sound left in the room as Neil let out a breath he’d been holding was the ticking of the clock in the corner. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in this chapter! Having MAJOR lack of motivation this week. No promises on when I will update next. 
> 
> Thanks for supporting! Ideas? Suggestions? Feel free to comment!   
> Come bother me on tumblr! @gladiatorgrl


	18. Chapter 18

When Kevin dropped his duffle bag impatiently in front of Andrew’s position on the windowsill for their nightly practice , Andrew rolled his eyes. 

“Grab Josten before you meet me in the car,” Andrew said lazily before Kevin could reprimand him for smoking. He didn’t stick around for the surprise to pass over Kevin’s features, or to hear his reply. 

Nothing, truly, could have prepared him for the excitement that thrummed along Neil Josten climbing into his car for late night practice. And while Andrew would never understand how Kevin and Neil could devote so much of themselves to as pointless an endeavor as gymnastics, it was sickening enough to watch Neil’s desperation that it managed to keep him mildly entertained. 

As they arrived at the gym, Neil bounced anxiously on the balls of his feet while Kevin punched in the code to unlock the gate and open up the security measures designed to protect VGA from break-ins. 

Kevin made Neil stretch and warm-up before he would let him anywhere near the training apparatuses. Andrew perched himself on one of the girl’s balance beams, spine aligned against the hard material, legs crossed at the ankle and arms behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. 

It was Wymack, who had first told him that only stupid people get bored. He hadn’t meant it as an insult at the time, in fact he was merely repeating something in order to disprove it. The rest of his statement had been, “but everyone who ever told me that was an idiot themselves. So, take what you will with that bullshit.” 

Andrew’s imagination had gotten him quite far in his life. Some rather creative death threats had emerged as the result of random combinations of things. Some ingenious murder plots as well. And his imagination seemed to run rampant during Kevin and Neil’s midnight practices. 

Part of him hated it, but the other part (the drug induced euphoric constantly bored part) was thankful for something to fixate on. And fixate he did. Sometimes all he could think about was the pull deep in his stomach when he caught Neil watching him. 

Andrew felt himself constructing ways to force himself nearer to Josten. Little insults and jabs made on the drive to practice, in the locker room, on the tumble track. And though he hated it, he couldn’t help it. It was so entertaining to put Neil on edge. 

One thing he could do without was the staring though, because Neil Josten looked at Andrew like he wanted him. Like he wanted to figure him out, or like he already had, but with all the oblivious nature that made Andrew question Neil’s innocence in the matter. It was unnerving and annoying, and made for interesting theories in Andrew’s mind that were better left unexplored. 

For days, it continued like that. Small public moments that fueled private fantasies.

It took Kevin a week and a half to corner him. After Neil had gone to his own room and Kevin had showered and changed, Kevin found Andrew by the windowsill. Andrew granted him one cursory glance before lighting a cigarette. Kevin took a deep breath, and Andrew expected a lecture he was in no mood to entertain. 

“You’re attracted to him.” Kevin’s words were careful. Deliberate. It hadn’t been what he had expected Kevin to confront him about, but nothing in Andrew’s reaction conveyed his surprise. 

For a moment, Andrew considered denying it. Though he supposed Kevin was probably expecting that. It was fun to fuck with Kevin’s expectations. 

“So?” 

“It’s a distraction.”

“Who will be distracted exactly? Him?” 

“Yes. And you.” 

At that Andrew laughed. “I have nothing to be distracted from or by. So if it’s me you’re concerned with, don’t be.” 

“I’m not concerned,” Kevin said, a little bitterness dripping into his words. 

“Tell that to your face.” 

“We should all be focused on training and competition.” 

“So, focus yourself.” It was the only warning Andrew was willing to give to Kevin, but he seemed to understand it. 

“Fine. But when this gets in the way of qualifiers, I won’t be so willing to sweep it aside.” 

“Noted.” Andrew decided was now was as good time as any to remind Kevin why he should stop looking at him like he wanted him. “So, will you be getting over your attraction to teammates as well, then? So you can _focus_?” 

“You’ve made it clear it’s a bad idea.” Kevin didn’t sound sure of the fact himself. 

“And you’re giving up that easily, Day?” Andrew pushed himself off the windowsill so he could stand shoulder to shoulder with Kevin, if they were in front of each other he’d have been pressed against Kevin’s body. “Can’t say I’m surprised.” 

“Don’t,” Kevin said tightly, looking down at Andrew fiercely. 

“Don’t what?” Andrew asked behind a wide smile. 

“Don’t play with me like that.” 

“How _do_ you want me to play with you, then?” 

Kevin closed his eyes, letting out a shaky breath, but Andrew wouldn’t have dared to make a move or an assumption. 

“You’ll have to tell me.” It wasn’t mocking, and it was deadly serious, all antagonistic playfulness gone from Andrew’s voice. 

Kevin kept his eyes closed, a muscle in his jaw twitching. 

“I can’t,” Kevin admitted. 

Andrew didn’t move until Kevin opened his eyes to look at him. 

“You need to figure out how,” Andrew said simply. 

He left Kevin standing there, and went to bed without touching himself, acid curling up from his stomach and choking around his throat as he thought about how fucked his thoughts could be despite his experience. 


End file.
